Valley of the Shadow of Death
by C O N T R I T E
Summary: "Only the smart, quick and heartless survive in this world now. I can tell you that one from experience, kiddo, the only question that remains here now is; are you ready to sacrifice your humanity to live in a dead world?" Eventual Daryl/OC Set S2
1. Intro

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **This is something that's turning out to be way too much fun for me, and with the season coming back soon, I just couldn't resist! It's based around an OFC, so don't like, turn around now. Otherwise, enjoy and share your opinions with me, hell just gimme a smiley face if you like it! Which I hope you really do, I've grown quite fond of it, myself.

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,<em>  
><em> I will fear no evil,<em>  
><em> for you are with me;<em>  
><em> your rod and your staff,<em>  
><em> they comfort me.<em>

_(Psalm 23:4 ESV)_

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><p><strong>Intro<strong>

It was Thursday, and after the past few months working at Monty's - who was really Boyd but didn't want to be called as such because it wasn't interesting or Frenchy enough apparently for an owner of a French cuisine restaurant, which just made me doubt the abilities of the older man _that_ much more - I had learned that Thursday's meant that the business men would be funneling in for posh little dinners as they all tried to outspend and out prove each other on how big their pricks were. Because really, the amount of showing off that happened within these walls on a Thursday was just one big 'Mine's bigger than yours' fest that I sadly had to participate in, in one shape or form every week from six to ten.

The afternoon crowd was bearable, but after the clock struck six, it got so stifling that sometimes I had to take a smoke break right in the damn middle of it, which never seemed to piss Monty off more, which really made me wanna do it that much more in turn. Even with being his apprentice I knew I could get away with that shit, he saw me more as a little sister than any boss should see an employee.

I spent most of the dinner shift in the back kitchen with Monty – who was portly and small, with a round face and the biggest eyes on his face that he scared the shit right outta me when I first met him. Ray – a tall African man who had a way with food like no other, and a goatee hanging off his chin that sometimes made our sanitary standards in the establishment questionary. Then there was the little pastry chef Marcy who was on lend from a bakery in Boston that had the brightest red hair and a quirky smile that always had a joke on her lips, out of all the pastry chef's I had come across in the past few years, she was by far my favorite. She was like a little pixy that darted around the kitchen with unparalled enthusiasm. She made me sick sometimes too; she could be so damn peppy that I locked her outta the kitchen on more than one occasion. She made some mean baklava though if you asked sweetly enough.

Being that it was Thursday meant that our special was pea soup, I hated the stuff and it made me wanna projectile vomit like in the Exorcist more times than not, but it seemed popular enough and not too many of the patrons Monty had acquired seemed to complain about it, so I held my breath as we made it and waited for closing time to come. Another reason I took more smoke breaks than I normally did.

I was adding the final touches to a set of dishes full of pea soup for a table of six when the screaming started. My wish had finally been granted, I laughed to myself, and maybe we'd finally get rid of the pea soup. I spared a glance to Ray who was shaking his head in annoyance; we had this happen a lot. People wanting a free meal more often than not planted an undesirable in their food, screamed, and bam wham, Monty was paying for your meal. It made me hate people that much more. So with that thought, I disregarded the increasing noise and threw some more parsley onto the plate before motioning to Danny, the little teenage boy that had taken up a waitressing position a few weeks after I had arrived, to take the food out to the table. He was quick on his feet, though clumsier than I think any of us preferred, Monty though had this heart of gold thing going on and wouldn't let the thing go.

"Whatcha wanna bet that it was a cockroach?" I joked with a grin, turning slightly to my two companions. Ray immediately hushed me with a sly smile of his own before returning to the pâté, while Macy merely snickered in agreement.

We had only been a team for a few months, but we worked together with ease and acted like we had been together for years rather than months. It was a sore replacement for the four brothers I had scattered around the country, but they brought me some comfort when I was homesick.

"We're gonna be screwed with you and that mouth, girl, when the health department comes in for inspection." Ray chuckled with his heavy Louisiana accent, making Macy giggle and nearly coat the strawberry cheesecake with the chocolate syrup she was drizzling over the New York cheesecake.

I rolled my eyes at him in good humor and slouched against the counter, "Yeah, well, I say I have charms in other ways, so there ain't any worries, my love." Ray and Macy rolled their eyes at my antics as they continued working in silence. What a bunch of party poopers.

Suddenly the swinging doors that Danny had exited through, swung open with ferocity that it caused all of us to pause and look up at our boss, Monty, who was fuming in the doorway. His little pudgy face was beet red and he was muttering obscenities under his breath as he held tightly onto his arm. Under closer observation I saw blood seeping through his sausage fingers and leaking to the white linoleum at our feet. "Damn, fuckin, arrogant, goddamn pricks! I told the two of em to stop fuckin around in my restaurant or I was callin the cops! And what the fuck do they do? They fuckin BITE ME!"

"No fuckin way!" I gasped as Macy immediately dropped her icing utensil and moved quickly around the kitchen to Monty's side; Ray remained at the stove shaking his head at the stupidity of it all. He was like that. "Are the cops coming?" I asked lightly, slowly making my way to him. I wasn't any stranger to blood, having the most rambunctious four older brothers, but it always made me uneasy when it wasn't my own.

"Yeah," He muttered in disdain. "Little fuckers' friend called the cops. And the worst fuckin part is that the whole damn place cleared out after he did too, the two of 'em is out there, but the rest of 'em are goddammit gone." We all sighed at this admission. It was common rule that the first two years you didn't even break even when you were starting a business, but for Monty this was the third year and he was still barely scraping by. I wasn't too sure why he had hired me as an apprentice and flown me in from Dallas if this was really the case, but I think it had something to do with our grandfathers mostly, so I wasn't gonna question the man's kindness or motives. He was treating me pretty damn well, and I knew better than to knock it.

"Damn, Monty," Macy gasped as she removed his tight gasp from his arm. There was a massive chunk of flesh missing from his forearm, and the teeth indentations to prove it, if that wasn't enough for you. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach as the blood kept pouring out of him. I couldn't believe he was still standing! This wasn't the little nibble I had assumed when Monty had said they bit him, this was terrifying and I was suddenly glad I wasn't called on for public appearances up front very often.

"That's just nasty, man." Ray admonished stepping further away from the quickly paling man in front of us. "You think they sendin' an ambulance too?" Monty nodded in answer silently as he swooned to the left, Macy and I both reaching out to catch him barely in time before he suddenly slumped to the floor, taking the two of us with him.

"Maaaaan, I feel like shit all the sudden." He grimaced in pain, as Ray threw a dishrag at us to wrap around his arm, Macy immediately got to it, securing it as tightly as she could with a double knot and I sighed to myself in relief. I sure as hell didn't wanna deal with _that_ task. "Go check on them outside for me, Emmy?" My eyes widened considerably as I glanced behind us to the deathly quiet dining area. I wasn't a pussy when it came to confrontation, had a rap sheet a foot long from when I was a kid trying to get out from behind my brothers, to tell you that, but the thought of going out there where the man that had bitten Monty was, was well, terrifying to me. What kinda man bites another one? Someone I didn't wanna fuck with, that's who.

Taking the multiple seconds of deliberation that I was sitting in as his queue to take action, Ray sighed to himself and grumbled about not being scared of any white collar man who takes bites outta people he moved around the three of us clustered on the floor and disappeared behind the door. It remained quiet for a moment before Ray suddenly shouted; "What the fuck you bastard doin now?" Macy and I both stared horrified at the doors as Monty writhed on the floor, saying it was too damn hot. "You better not fuckin try'a bite me motherfucker!" There was some moaning and shouting, and a bit of crashing that followed and I frowned at the noises, Macy's shoulder's started shaking as she tried to hold back sobs.

Quietly moving to my feet and making a decision, I quickly moved to the pantry where all the pots and pans were, grabbing an old iron skillet that had been Monty's grandfathers and that we used on rare occasions, I moved swiftly back to the doors and paused. Looking down at sobbing Macy and placid Monty, "This'll just take a second." I grinned cockily trying to take the seriousness out of the air. Tossing the skillet between my hands quickly, I tried to keep the act of nonchalance up and convincing for Macy.

Entering the dining room, I wasn't ready for the sight I was greeted with. When Monty had said everyone had left, he had forgotten to mention the part where most of the tables, walls, and floor were covered in blood. He also forgot to mention the three or four of them that had stayed behind, lumbering around the table and chairs like they were a bunch of zombies.

I spotted Ray easily, in a corner with a chair between him and the suit, tie and blood covered man that was snapping and clawing at him. Frowning, I raised the skillet a little higher in a defensive way that my daddy and brothers would be real proud of, as I quickly scanned the rest of the room, and to see what the other three were doing. They hadn't noticed me yet, but were instead huddled around a lump on the floor, making slurping noises. I didn't want to think about what or who that might be or what they were doing.

"Ray?" I called out, leaning against the wall carefully as I peered at the spectacle happening before my eyes. He spared me a glance for only a second before grunting in acknowledgement and returning to the task of keeping the bloody man away from him. It looked like it was getting harder. I figured that the only way I was gonna get Ray back into the kitchen, where I guess it was safe, was to distract the man. So, with that in mind, I walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. With the skillet. Skidding back quickly as he turned to greet me, I gagged. Half of his face was torn and bloody. He looked like a walking goddamn corpse. "I don't wanna hurt you, but you gotta fuckin relax!" I seethed as he lunged at me again, causing me to back up and bump into a table. I glowered at him.

"Goddammit, Emmy!" Ray shouted from behind the lil bastard, causing him to swing back around to face him. Ray was a lot closer than I think either of us had noticed his chair was discarded as he had now taken to trying to save me from this asshole. He threw a punch at the guys jaw, causing him to fall to the floor in a moaning heap. Taking this as a success, he quickly grabbed ahold of my arm and hauled me back to the kitchen, I spared one glance over my shoulder to see him getting back up and lumbering after us, I squeaked at the realization, Ray moved quicker.

Shoving us both inside; we nearly tripped over Monty, who lay unconscious by a rocking Macy. Letting go of me, Ray quickly moved to the tall bookcase that sat beside the doors and started pushing it to stand in front of the one door closest to it, taking his lead I moved to the other side and pushed the twin bookcase in front of the other door. Sighing I leaned against the now empty wall, breathing heavily I looked between my three friends. "Monty pass out?" Macy could barely nod in confirmation.

"You think those fuckin' coppers would be here by now!" Ray growled, dropping to his knees beside Monty, and placing two fingers at his neck, searching for a pulse.

"Just relax," I breathed. "Shit takes time in the city."

"Obviously." He muttered, shaking his head again in annoyance as he lead back and rubbed at his neck. "I don't know what we're supposed to do about Monty; I ain't got medical experience for something like this."

"He'll be fine!" I assured as the bookcase next to me shuddered as someone pushed against the door, and the moaning was suddenly too close for comfort. Shoving myself away from the wall, I tripped my way further into the kitchen. Crossing my arms, I growled, "What the fuck is up with these people?"

"I dunno, Emmy." Macy hiccupped. I felt sorry for her, she was terrified beyond her wits end, and I'm sure the fact that she was in a 'secret' relationship with Monty wasn't helping her emotional stability in this situation either. I wanted to go grab the lil' pixie and give her a hug, but something in my gut told me to give Monty and his sudden unconsciousness a wide berth. If those people out there were sick, like I was hoping they were, as horrible as it sounded, then it had to spread somehow and well, biting sounded as good as any other. So, they could stay over there, and me, I'd stay on the side of the kitchen that had the closest exit to the back alley. If shit went south, I wasn't above running like a scared little girl all the way back to my apartment.

Rocking back and forth on my feet, I tried to breathe quietly as the four of us sat in an overly pregnant silence. I could tell Ray was too busy thinking and planning, and plotting like he usually did when he was silent. Macy was too busy having a mental breakdown to notice anything other than the still bleeding and gaping hole on Monty's arm. And Monty? Well, from here it looked like he had stopped breathing ten minutes ago. I didn't know if this was a good thing or not, but I figured my iron skillet would be finding out if he suddenly sat up and made a grab for any inch of me. Felt like I was in some stupid ass zombie movie at that thought.

"Emmy?" Ray finally asked, looking up from the spot on the floor he had been staring out since we had reentered the kitchen, looking down to him to meet his gaze, I tilted my head. "I think we need to leave. It's been a while, and I don't hear any sirens coming our way." Being the little sister of a Dallas police officer, I blanched at the idea of leaving a crime scene, but putting into consideration my own criminal background and the fact that bitches were trying to fuckin chew on you just outside, I wasn't too keen on staying put. The idea seemed fantastic to me. Macy however, had a different idea about the situation.

"We can't leave! We can't move Monty, and I'm not leaving without him!" Macy shrieked, wrapping herself more tightly around Monty's, what I supposed to be, corpse. I don't think she had caught on to the fact his chest wasn't rising and falling anymore like it had been. I also don't think she quite understood what was on the other side of those doors, not that I did either, but I knew it was dangerous and downright scary.

"Me and Em, we're leaving, with or without you, Macy. So make up your damn mind." Ray snapped, rising to his feet quickly, he was already at my side before I could blink. Both of us stared at Macy as she fiercely shook her head. Well, I sighed to myself, her funeral, cause I sure as hell wasn't staying around any longer than I needed to be. First on the agenda was getting back to the apartment where I knew it was safe and then I was conference calling all of my brothers, they had to know what the fuck was going on.

"Grab your shit." He demanded as he tugged me behind him, quickly I made a grab for the coat and hobo that hung on a hook by the back door and followed out after him, sparing Macy one last pleading look that she merely turned her head away from to begin whispering nonsense to Monty.

I didn't want to leave her, I really didn't, but it wasn't safe here and she was an adult. She could take care of herself. At least the back door we had left out of locked, so no one would be getting in that way, but Lord only knows how long the bookshelves would keep the patrons away.

Shoving my arms into the sleeves of my navy green bomber, after of course I had shoved the skillet into the big ass hobo that was now slung onto my shoulder haphazardly, we broke out onto the street. The crowds were the same as they milled about back and forth, admittedly smaller than usual but hey, no one was snapping at me here so I felt downright comfortable.

Looking up to Ray, "You get home to your big ass family. I'm going home." He sighed in agreement as he spared a tired glance down at me, silently telling me to be careful before he tugged me into the tightest hug, nearly squeezing the life outta me. This somehow felt like the last time we would see each other, I think he felt that tug in his heart too. "Tell the family hi, too!" I laughed as he finally pulled away.

"Will do, Emmy-boo." I rolled my eyes at him and his endearment with a heartfelt smile on my lips before we both disappeared into the crowd, going our two different directions. I knew he was heading for the subway, me I was walking the next ten blocks without a worry in my mind. I wasn't going to let myself think about what had just happened until I was home. I could cry there and not worry. It had only been my home for the past four months, but I felt safer there than I had since my father was alive. This really was saying something when your father was an ex-Marine.

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><p>The AC kicked on with a low hum as I slammed the front door of my little one bedroom apartment shut behind me. The farther from the restaurant I had gotten, the weirder people were. Everyone obviously knew some vital information I wasn't currently privy to, and it was freaking the fuck outta me. The only next course of action I could think of now was to call my brothers. Zane, Grady, and Travis were enlisted in the Army, Air Force and Marines, so I figured if anyone knew anything; it'd be one of them. I'd be checking in with Missouri, who was back in Dallas, too.<p>

Discarding my purse without much thought, I tripped my way over to the coffee table where my laptop sat harmlessly waiting for me to use it, if I remembered correctly; it should still be on from when I left that morning. I was rather careless when it came to turning things off. Slumping onto the couch, I pulled the computer into my lap and logged back on before finding my way to Skype, where sure enough my four older brothers were waiting for my call.

Zane had his back turned to the camera, his army fatigues greeting me instead; he seemed tense as he leaned over whatever it was on the table in front of him. Grady grinned at my arrival and gave me a silent salute. Travis stared blankly ahead at his camera and barely twitched as I made my own silent greeting to the ones who were paying attention – we never usually started talking unless Zane gave us the green light, he was the oldest out of us and it just seemed to work that way after being raised by our daddy. Missouri was seen pacing back and forth in what I knew to be the house I had grown up in since I was fifteen, all the way back in the heart of Texas.

Suddenly, Zane swung around in his chair and faced the camera and all four of us. His face was tense and his shoulders straight as his lips were pursed into a tight line. He seemed worried. "What's happening where you guys are?"

Grady sighed, "Scott Air Force Base is secure. But they're talking about sending my unit into the city to secure civilians." I frowned, completely confused. This went unnoticed by my brothers as they continued to report.

Travis nodded, "Camp Lejeune is closing the front gates in fifteen. Commander says we won't be leaving once they do, unless the Secretary needs us."

Missouri finally faced us, pale faced and glassy eyed. "Local PD is gonna start directing folks to the CDC here soon. I hear they're working on a cure down here."

Zane nodded, his arms now crossed over his chest, "Fort Benning is closed, and I won't be leaving anytime soon." He paused, his eyes finally focusing on me, who sat eyes wide with my arms wrapped around myself, completely terrified. Their bases were closing, and it sounded like a national lock down. I understood there must be a virus outbreak or something, but why would they be closing down everything? "Emily Louise, you gotta get your ass to Fort Benning." I flinched at my name, as a chorus of agreements flew from my brothers.

"I-I dunno guys, wouldn't it be better to just, like stay put..?" I asked hopefully.

"No. You get your shit packed, and you get outta the city before refuges start flooding the highway. They're gonna be sending civilians to the CDC."

"Shouldn't I go there then, Zane? It's closer and-"

"Family of men stationed here on base are allowed to come, so you get your ass here and bring all your fuckin ID, and you do it now, Emily Louise, or so help me God!"

"C'mon, Emmy, just get in the car and go. We don't need to be worrying about you out there." Travis agreed, trying to smile at me in reassurance. I rolled my eyes. I didn't like the idea. I'd be with Zane, but with the rest of us scattered across the neighboring states that didn't make me feel all that better. If I was going somewhere, it was going to be where all four of them were.

"We'll all figure out how to get there after the Command relaxes, alright?" Grady added helpfully, they all nodded in agreement at his proposal. I frowned at Grady and his mind reading skills.

"Fine. But you gotta tell me what's happening! I almost got eaten by a fuckin customer, so explain what's going on!" I had thought it impossible, but all of their faces paled and slackened. Horror flashing behind their eyes, as on cue they all leaned closer to their cameras.

"Emmy," Zane whispered. "Tell us you didn't get bit. _Please_." He begged.

"Nah," I sighed shaking my head, thinking of Monty and Macy. "Ray saved my ass." They all let out a breath of air. "So that's how it spreads?" Nods. "Well, how do you stop 'em? Cause Ray has this mean ass right hook, and the bastard didn't even stay down for a second!" I exclaimed, motioning around myself widely for emphasis.

"Their head, you gotta shoot em or beat their brains out." My face paled now at Missouri's words. "At least, that's what I heard." He added shyly at notice of my reaction, but I had a feeling as I spotted a splatter of blood on the collar of his undershirt, that perhaps that wasn't just water cooler gossip on his part.

"So Fort Benning then? That's like what, a two hour drive..?"

"About, probably longer with all the traffic. You need to get going within the next half hour. Understand, Emmy? The next _thirty_ minutes." I frowned at Zane as he tried to stress the point of my departure. They were all acting funny and I had a feeling that things weren't as kosher as I was being led to believe. Well hell, Missouri had tell me to kill the damn bastards if I came across any, so what else was the likely explanation?

"Alright, next thirty minutes, got it." I grinned, even though I knew it was going to take longer. I had to grab some shit, then walk six blocks to get to the parking garage where the Mustang was. That in itself would take an thirty minutes. Zane just wouldn't have to know; I'd find a back road toe Fort Benning and get there within the same time. "I better get going, so I love you guys. See you soon." I added before a chorus of 'I love you's' followed and one by one they signed off before it was just me and Missouri. He had always been the one I was closest with, even if he had left when I was twelve, we had this bond that not even when he ran off to Stanford could break.

"I'll try to get there soon, Emmy-boo. Don't take your time." I nodded. "You have your guns, right?" Another nod. "Good, don't forget them." Then click, he was gone. I sighed as I went to Google Maps. I needed a route to Fort Benning it looked like. I had only been there once, a few years ago after mom had died and I had been driven there by Missouri, so my know how on the roads were iffy.

Telling the computer to print the map up I quickly rose to my feet and made a dash to my room. Grabbing the black and white polka dot duffle from my closet I started throwing clothes and everything else I would need into the mouth of the bag, making sure with special care to add the last family picture we had to the top. My brother's looked so very different now than they did eight years ago. Hiking it up onto my shoulder I powerwalked back into the kitchen as I piled some snacks and water into a recyclable shopping bag, feeling like I wouldn't have to make any pit stops unless for a bathroom on my way I was satisfied and calmly made my way to the door.

Bending down slightly to grab the hobo I paused as I remembered the pistol, rifle and two shotguns I had sitting in the top drawer of my dresser and underneath my bed, making my rounds back there I shoveled the pistol in its casing and the bullets in alongside the skillet and told myself I'd load them later before grabbing the cases that housed the three other guns. Pausing again to grab the laptop on my way and unzipping the duffel slightly to shove it in. Grabbing the paper covered in directions from the printer on the short bookshelf by the front door along with my car keys I was ready to leave.

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><p>Traffic was iffy. I couldn't tell if it was better to be leaving the city or not, as it was fairly hard to do as both sides of the highway now consisted of an in rather than an out. I'd grown up in cities most of my life, but I'd never seen so many people coming at once. Considering that the only place now with all of these cars and people to drive was the shoulder of the road, meant for a bumpy ride. Or at least this is what I was planning on dealing with, since I was still trapped a few too many streets inside the city. It'd been forty five minutes since I talked to my brothers, and as I watched tanks and every other military vehicle funnel into the city and sweep the streets, I began to panic.<p>

I considered for a moment turning around and heading for the CDC, it seemed to be the idea everyone else had, and if it was that large of an idea to spread like it obviously had, then well maybe I should jump on the bandwagon. I couldn't abandon my brothers though, they were the only hope I had left, the only family, and so I decided if I was going anywhere it was where they told me to. Zane knew best, he always had, and I figured the way he had been raising in the ranks for the past few years, that he always would. The official patriarch of our family he now was.

Sighing happily as traffic finally started moving in my benefit, I weaved the '67 Mustang in between cars and switched lanes, trying to ignore the group of infectees that were surrounding a man. I wanted to help him, really I did, but it was three to one, and if my father had taught me anything it was you don't take those kinds of odds in whatever circumstances. Especially in war, and dammit, that is what it looked like it was turning into.

Twenty minutes later, I realized the reason behind the lack of movement that I had been dealing with. The military wasn't letting anyone _out_ of the city, only in. And by the way soldiers were being shouted at and the way they were beginning to treat civilians, I didn't think that would be lasting too much longer either. I couldn't think of any other way out of the city than this one, I'm sure there were plenty but if I was understanding what was going on correctly, and from listening to the radio for the past forty like I had been I thought I was, then all of the other exits would be blocked like this one. I couldn't get out of the city, I was royally screwed. I didn't want to chance going to the CDC, because I was sure they were already full and with that many people I didn't want to step foot in that chaos.

So with some deliberate thinking, I finally decided to turn back around and go to my apartment. The complex was full of mostly older couples and families, so I figured the chances of it being safe was efficient enough. I knew I could barricade myself in like the radio was telling you to do too. One good thing was that Missouri had been right according to the news, the way to stop whatever these people were turning into, was to shoot them in their head. I didn't know if I'd be able to if it came down to it, but I figured I'd come to that bridge when needed.

Hauling everything down the stairs had been easy. Hauling everything back up, was the hard part. Everyone but me was fleeing to wherever they thought safe. I didn't know if they were the stupid ones or if I was.

I was on the fifth floor, I lived on the tenth and so I still had a ways to go when I came across the little old cat lady that I had had plenty of conversations with as I fetched my mail. She had been nice enough and didn't smell too badly considering her roommates were twenty or so felines. She was on one side of the hall, and I was on the other.

My first instinct was to tell her to go back inside and wait for one of her sons to come get her, I never got to act on this instinct as for when she turned to me, I noticed immediately the bleeding hole on the side of her neck. If I had been paying the amount of attention I should've to the news when I had been in the car, this might have been an easier concept for me to swallow, because considering where the bite was and the amount of blood on her flowered mumu, she should've been dead on the floor. Not limping her way down the hall towards me with a moan and over excited hand gestures.

Swallowing the lump in my throat I glanced back to the stairs I had come from, to her and the set of stairs on the opposite end of the hall that I needed if I wanted to get to my apartment. I had all my guns slung around my body like I was going to war, but my bullets were in the belly of my purse and none of them were loaded. The only logical weapon I had on me was the skillet. I didn't want to get that close to her, I decided very quickly. I was losing this advantage though as I stood there like an ass. I couldn't quite get my legs or feet or arms and hands for that matter to respond to the terrified commands I was sending them, instead I was left there with a terrified look on my face as the little old lady made a great effort to get to me.

"Oi! You gonna stand there all day or are you gonna get your tight little ass over here?" My eyes snapped immediately to the brash voice of a man, it had a heavy slur to it and I noticed with disdain that it belonged to the man I had been skirting around since I had hauled my belongings upstairs the first time. He creeped the shit outta me and I wasn't alone in this. The first word of advice I had gotten upon moving in was to avoid the 'tall, angry drunk man on the fifth floor' if I wanted to make it to my thirtieth birthday. Considering I did, I had paid that advice a lot of attention. I didn't particular want to go into his apartment, even if it was two doors away from where I stood and probably a lot safer than getting whatever cat lady had. "C'mon you little priss!" He hissed again, his small eyes narrowed dangerously at me as I finally made a move closer to the wall. It was hell or hell, I figured. At least with this one, I could escape outta the damn window.

Once I was within an arm's reach, he grabbed ahold of the hood on my jacket and yanked me inside his dark and odd smelling apartment. My nose wrinkled in disgust immediately, it smelt like a mixture of vomit, piss, vodka and stale cigarettes.

"You got any brains up there, girl? Or are ya just looks?" He laughed. Yes, my assumptions had been right; he wasn't a man to be around at all.

"Fuck you."

"That an offer?" He snickered with a wink. I nearly threw up. I should've stayed out in the hall, I decided quietly, at least she wouldn't have berated and raped me before she killed me, or bit me or whatever the fuck she was aiming to do to me. I didn't doubt for a second that this man had one or all on the agenda for me tonight. I wasn't too thrilled, and was trying my hardest to find the window I knew he had to have.

"What's your name girly?"

"Emmy." I responded curtly, crossing my arms over my chest defensively as he flicked on a light and began moving about the room, searching for something it looked like.

"What's your real name? Huh? The one good ol' momma gave ya? I can spot a Southern Belle from a mile away."

Rolling my eyes, "It's Emily Louise. And I'm no Southern Belle, douche bag." I swear I heard my mom roll in her damn grave.

"You got alotta attitude for the man that just saved your life!"

"Yelling at my little tight ass to get inside really isn't filed away under that category." I snorted as he knocked a bookshelf over that was full of books and knickknacks to the floor with a loud crash. "What _are_ you doing?" I asked frowning as he began disassembling the rather sturdy piece of furniture.

"Gonna board the doors and windows up once you move your ass outta my way." Saw that as a queue to leave, really. I wasn't being trapped in here with him for god only knows how long; I'd sooner fling myself off of the roof then do that deed.

"Then I'll just climb outta that window and be on my way." I stated firmly, moving away from the door and closer to the aluminum covered spectacle that I had finally spotted.

"Nah, your pretty ass is stayin' here. Ain't no place for a Belle like you out there."

"You ain't my daddy or my big brothers, so I'll be doing what I want. Thank you very much." I huffed, immediately frowning as the step I took made an obnoxious crunch. Looking down I was displeased to find an empty bottle of vodka demolished under the heel of my boots. He really was a drunkard.

"Big brothers, huh? Well I best keep you safe for them, girly." He grinned as he stood with the armful of bookcase and made quick strides to the door. Scowling at him I noticed with distaste the carpenter's belt hung around his waist, with a pocket full of nails and a hammer included. Lil' bastard meant business. I was surprised he could even function the closer I looked at the room. "I ain't gonna bite if that's what your pretty self is wonderin' about. You ain't my type." Oh, so reassuring.

"Yeah, that's nice. But my big brother is waiting for me, so I better get going." I muttered making my way quickly towards my window of freedom.

"That why you were goin' _up_ the stairs when you shoulda been goin' down?" He asked curiously, sending a look at me over his shoulder that clearly told me he wasn't as stupid as I was thinking. "That's what I thought." He laughed as I had settled into a silence. He had a point, I couldn't get out of the sit like I wanted and I probably couldn't even get across the city to the CDC at this point if it was really spreading as quickly as they were saying. "Just stay here 'til the boss man says it's safe. I swear I ain't gonna touch your prissy ass." I swore as he began hammering the shelves against the door with volition.

Seeing no other way, I sighed, "Yeah. Okay, fine. But I'll cut your saggy ass dick off if you even look at me funny, got it?" He snickered at me.

"You look like my dead kid, girly. Ain't gonna be gettin' excited about your small ass anytime soon." For whatever reason, this made me relax. If only a little. He seemed to notice this and actually sent a toothy grin at me that didn't make my skin crawl. It really was the end of the world, I decided. "Names' Bo, by the way."

"Well, _Bo_, thanks and all." I couldn't let all of momma's lil etiquette training go to waste, could I? No, she'd be coming for me next if I even thought about it for a second.

"See. Lil' Miss Southern Belle!"

Growling at him, I dropped my bags to the floor unceremoniously and rolled my shoulders, "Shut the fuck up." Striding over to him, I paused beside him in front of the door and threw him a glance; nodding he motioned to where his hand was and let me replace it with my own and I helped him hold the piece of wood up. "You bi-polar or something?"

"Nah. Just don't like prissy little girls who try to be somethin' they ain't. But ya are a Southern Belle." I snorted at him. "Gotta be the goddamn apocalypse, stuck in here with one now." He laughed after he had hammered the final nail into the frame of the door. "You ain't that bi-polar fuck in the head shit or anything, are ya?" He asked with a wink.

"Nope. Just don't like creepy old drunkards who talk like they don't know a dimes worth of anything."

"Well, you're pretty fuckin lucky then, girly! I know a dimes wortha _somethin'_!"


	2. One

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello my lovelies, here is the first chapter of Valley of the Shadow of Death; Emmy finally gets to the camp in this one. I hope you enjoy! And thank you to Blackjack93 and bloodshadows for adding this to your alerts, you made my day. :)

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>O, Death<em>  
><em>Won't you spare me over til another year<em>  
><em>Well what is this that I can't see<em>  
><em>With ice cold hands takin' hold of me<em>  
><em>Well I am death, none can excel<em>  
><em>I'll open the door to heaven or hell<em>  
><em>Whoa, death someone would pray<em>  
><em>Could you wait to call me another day<em>  
><em>The children prayed, the preacher preached<em>  
><em>Time and mercy is out of your reach<em>  
><em>I'll fix your feet til you cant walk<em>  
><em>I'll lock your jaw til you cant talk<em>  
><em>I'll close your eyes so you can't see<em>  
><em>This very air, come and go with me<em>  
><em>I'm death I come to take the soul<em>  
><em>Leave the body and leave it cold<em>  
><em>To draw up the flesh off of the frame<em>  
><em>Dirt and worm both have a claim<em>_  
><em>

_O' Death by Ralph Stanley_

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><p><strong>One<strong>

It's been six weeks. Bo hasn't let me leave the apartment complex since I walked in. He has however moved us up to my apartment. Higher ground is safer apparently, but personally, I think he just wanted somewhere that smelt better. Along with my apartment, we have the whole tenth floor barricaded, which is nice because after a month of Bo, I was ready to kill Bo and his receding hairline.

Bo, however, wasn't too bad otherwise. Unless you counted his sobering up period as a walk in the park. I had insisted that we could find some kind of alcohol in the building, but no, like my father had said, no Marine should be wasted in war. Another thing I learned was that, Bo was an ex-Marine like my father had been, just a decade or so younger than my father too. He liked to talk bullshit and he liked it as crude as you could get, but that suited me just fine. Our alliance though, was something that would've never worked if society hadn't collapsed.

The Military had actually napalmed the city that first night, after that I was pretty sure my brothers thought me to be dead myself after I didn't arrive at Fort Benning when I was supposed to – which was still a priority, I just had to grow a pair first. Another reason he didn't let me out of the building. I wanted to disagree and fight it, but if the last images we had seen on TV were anything to go by, I was terrified to go outside. Bo had noticed this quicker than I would've like and had proceeded to tell me; "That's why you're the Belle and I'm the grunt, girly. Gotta keep pretty things like you safe." As much as it bothered me to show fear to someone I barely knew I was glad I didn't have to switch shifts with him and run out to the city for supplies.

Bo said he hadn't come across anyone else on his little trips outside every other day, but I had a feeling he was lying. Every once in a while I'd hear those cries of pain again like it had been in the beginning of this mess, like someone was being chewed up and eaten alive just to come back and go searching for their own meal. Every time it was just a little bit closer to the building too, like someone was following him, but not going the right way – Bo had this city mapped like a genius. He had been right when he told me he knew _somethin'_. I wasn't too ignorant to not notice those cries, but I also wasn't too stupid to call Bo out on it.

He was right enough though, big groups were probably riskier than just the two of us were with everything going on in this hell. More people meant more backs to watch and people to feed. But I had a feeling that this sense of serenity we had finally mastered in this world was something that wouldn't last like Bo would prefer.

"You starin' out that damn window again, girl?" Bo grunted as he hauled himself and a bag of whatever he had found into the apartment. I turned slightly to face him from my perch on the floor where I had been staring up at the sky, this was the only window he didn't have boarded or taped over with aluminum foil. It was our just in case escape route.

I rolled my eyes at him as he made the task at hand just that much more dramatic. He was like a little kid sometimes, and I wondered if he really was the safest bet for whatever protection and stability he provided in this world. Then he'd open his pack up and pull out this oddly surprising and incredible jewel he had found amongst the chaos and I was just happy to have another person around and a reason to not have to go outside. "What'd you find?" I questioned interestedly as I leaned back on my palms, not bothering to pick myself up from the floor.

"You Belle's are all the same," He sighed shaking his head. He hadn't stopped calling me a Belle either, I had yet to decide if this was a compliment or an insult, but considering the source I figured it was a little bit of both. He had a certain way about him that just about everything he said was filed under both categories.

"Yeah, yeah, that's whatcha keep telling me." I muttered rolling my eye. He proceeded to laugh at me and drop the navy sack to the floor with enthusiasm. He actually looked rather excited, so much that I had to wonder if he had found the cure to this whole damn mess. With him it was probably honeybuns or coffee. Outta everything – even the vodka he had been addicted to – that's what he missed most, his honeybuns and coffee. Personally, I missed showering, but for a man with questionable hygiene to begin with, I guess I couldn't expect anything less from him than food and caffeine.

"Now, c'mon, girly, guess what daddy brought you." He teased with a toothy grin, which would've been creepy if I hadn't already been stuck in here with him for six weeks. At this point nothing he did was creepy, just fucking annoying.

"_Bo_," I whined, with a face that would've got me a smack on the back of my head from my daddy. Sinclair's weren't whiners, but I figure with everything that was outside these walls, I could get away with it if I wanted to. It annoyed the fuck outta Bo too, so I found that it had more perks than disadvantages in my book.

"Well," Bo started as he straightened the camouflage hunting jacket that was hanging on his withering frame. Which he hadn't had when he left that morning I noted with curiosity and scrutiny, it wasn't all that helpful in the city, and he'd stand out more than not I anticipated. "I found some canned fruit and the like." I frowned at him, well hot fuckin damn! What an accomplishment.

Sensing my distaste as he began unloading the contents to the floor around him he began grinning again, "And these little jewels of course. Your favorite, ain't it?" I was touched that he actually paid attention to the ramblings I made at God awful times to him in the night when I couldn't sleep, because right there in his hands was a slightly deflated bag of _Sun Chips_ and a container of _Nuttella_.

"C'mon, girly, you better fuckin smile. I nearly got bit by some fat ass bitch in the snack aisle for this shit!" He teased as I stared quietly at him, the only thing I could hear in my head was Missouri teasing me about the combination when I had come home after finishing in Austin, _"Momma saved all that money for you and your school and what does it buy us? Not the culinary specialties we hoped for but this nasty ass combination of shit that a monkey could throw together." He laughed, "Well, monkey could probably come up with somethin' better."_

"Emmy..?" My attention snapped back to reality at the mention of my name, and I shook my head, making a quick swipe at my eyes that were brimming with tears. I guess I was missing my brothers more than I thought. I was worried senseless about all four of them, but found it easier to distract myself than think about it. I figured Zane, Travis and Grady were safe; they were all locked up tight. But Missouri hadn't been, he had been in Dallas securing civilians, and somewhere in my gut I had this horrible feeling that he wasn't on his way or safe like he should've been. The thought hurt me more than when my daddy had died.

"I'm fine, Bo. Thank you." I said with a smile, "You really are the best."

"Gonna make me blush, girly." He laughed with a duck of his head. He was lucky; he didn't have a family to worry about; where they were, if they were safe, if they were walking around dead. His daughter had died when she was a teenager of drug overdose, his would be wife had ran off with another woman a few months later. He was alone and lucky. Though if you asked him, he'd say he was more fucked than to begin with, had to watch after me for my brothers and all. Maybe that was true, maybe he was just as unlucky as I felt half the time to be stuck in this hell, but at least we weren't walking around wanting to eat people and at least we had each other.

"Good," I snickered standing up. "Was starting to think you were dead."

"You think you real funny, Belle. You ain't."

"Not all of us are born with material at the ready, Bo. You're lucky you have that face of yours or you'd be like the rest of us normal people – not a walking joke."

"I don't know why in the hell I keep you around when you treat me like this." He muttered shaking his head. I could tell the old coot was amused by quirk of his lips.

"Cause you'd go completely bonkers without me! And 'sides, ya know you love the challenge!"

"The daily challenge being to not kill your pretty little self?" He asked with a thoughtful pause, before continuing with a sudden grin on his face. "You're probably right there." Laughing at him I shook my head, it was a wonder _I_ hadn't gone completely bonkers with the only human interaction I had being with him and his own craziness. I had grown quite fond of him though, I didn't know what I'd do if I lost him. But it is with those circumstances and thoughts that you normally do lose the person you'd be lost without.

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><p>We sat on the roof of the building, it was dusk, and considering the lack of light coming from the now dead and rotting city, stars were already beginning to spark against the darkening sky. The air was still thick with humidity causing my dark tresses to stick uncomfortably to my head. Bo sat beside me nursing the bottle of Pepsi he had scavenged from a quick mart a few hours prior, he was being oddly quiet tonight and it was beginning to worry me. The only time the man was quiet was when he was sleeping.<p>

"What's on your mind, old man?" He jerked at the sudden obtrusion of my voice into his pondering silence, my eyebrow raised at his jerky behavior. I had half a mind to think that maybe he brought back more than just a few Pepsi's, but I had been with him since he got back so I figured the likely hood of him slipping something in while I was watching was near to null.

"I'm fine, girly." He muttered shaking his head as he brought the bottle back to his lips. I frowned at him and slouched back further into the purple, plastic lawn chair, sullenly crossing my arms I sent him an annoyed look, hoping that he'd pick up on the vibes.

"Emmy…" He finally whispered his voice low and gravelly.

"Yeah, Bo?"

"Something happened today while I was out," He sighed with a remorseful shake of his head. My hands tightened instinctively around the arm rests of the chair. He had this foreboding air about him now that I turned my head to actually look at him, he looked a little sick too. Sweat soaked his greying mop of thin hair along with the khaki colored short sleeve shirt that clung to his torso. It wasn't that surprising with the heat that good ol' Georgia was smothering us in, I looked much the same quite frankly, but it was the pallor of his skin and the way he sat in the chair beside me that caused me to worry. He wasn't as relaxed as he normally was when we came up here at dusk, and he was three shades paler than normal.

"There was this group of those things that was outside of the sports store I hit today. I got in pretty easily, loaded up everything I thought we might need and was ready to leave. I hadn't noticed the two of 'em that were in there though, kiddo." My heart stopped as he took another pause in his deliberately calm storytelling and a large swig of a new bottle of Pepsi he had cracked open. He was bitten, and he came back here? What was he thinking? How could he do this to me? "Damn bastards didn't have any legs on 'em and I wasn't quick enough to shoot 'em. when I finally did notice 'em. They got me in the fuckin' leg." He muttered shaking his head as he moved to pull up the leg of his jeans, and sure enough there on his calf was the infectious bite mark, red and swollen. I mentally kicked myself for not noticing the difference between his two legs and the limp he had developed that now seemed more important than I had originally deemed it.

"_Bo_…" I whispered painfully, tears springing to my hazel orbs as I witnessed the proof of the incident. I couldn't believe it, and I really didn't want to. This all meant things that I wasn't ready for, things that I never would be ready for. I didn't want to be by myself, I wasn't a solitary creature and I didn't think I could survive out there by myself without Bo.

"You know what you're gonna have to do, girly." I did know, and I didn't like it one bit. There was a promise we had made after all the lights in the city had died out, and the screams of pain had subsided. If one of us got infected, the other had to take care of business. Neither one of us wanted to become whatever those people were turning into, and Bo had been quite adamant that suicide just wasn't something he was going to do when he had me around. He was being selfish when he had come back here, but I couldn't hate him for it. I would've been more devastated if he had just disappeared.

"Let's get inside, kid." He instructed thickly, rising to his feet with more difficulty than normal. Making a swipe at my eyes I stood quickly and moved to his side, slinging his arm over my shoulders and wrapping my own around him I helped him walk to the roof access door and all the way back down to my apartment.

Rubbing my hands over my face I let out a sigh as Bo fidgeted at the kitchen table, one of his hands down at his leg scratching with urgency at the bite. Apparently it was itchy as fuck and bugging the hell outta him. I couldn't believe that this was actually happening, but by every second that passed Bo looked worse and worse and it made reality hit harder. I didn't know how long it was going to take him to turn into those monsters, and I could tell this fact was bothering him. He wasn't the type of man that liked unexpected things; he was worse than my daddy had been when it came to everything having to have order and a schedule.

"Are all of your bags still packed?" Bo asked calmly as he threw me a look over his shoulder that told me to stop being a little girl about the situation. He was trying to be a hard ass with me, but I knew better, Bo was just as scared about what was happening as I was.

Fidgeting with the hem of my black short sleeve V-neck I nodded somberly, "Yeah, they are." The rule had been to never unpack, only take things out and replace them as necessary, it was a rule I had followed. He nodded in head in satisfaction and motioned for me to take the seat across from him, complying quietly I moved around the kitchen and slumped into the wooden chair.

"You gonna be a little bitch about this?"

"I'm not being a little bitch. I'm actually gonna fuckin' miss you, ya know."

"Bitch talk. You ain't gonna survive one goddamn minute you talkin' like that." Bo grunted in distaste, his face hard and unforgiving as he stared me down, treating me like the soldier I wasn't. I wanted to be that person, with the cold outer shell and no remorse or pain for what I saw and heard, but I wasn't and I didn't know if I could be. No matter how much I had always wanted to be like my brothers and daddy, one fact remained; my momma had raised a Belle and no matter how much I cussed, drank and smoked I'd never be anything else.

"I don't know what to tell ya." I mumbled with a lazy shrug of my shoulders.

"Well I'm gonna tell _you_ somethin' little girl." He growled waving his finger at me like a disapproving parent, which if you thought about it he was. He had taken on that role the moment he saved me from that cat lady, we hadn't realized it at the time but we both made impacts on each other from that moment forward that neither of us had anticipated. I think he began realizing now too what a disadvantage he had put me at by not insisting I do my share and do supply runs every now and then. He had told me he was preparing me to get to Fort Benning from the very beginning, that not now but later when I was ready that we'd leave and get me to my brothers, but I think somewhere between then and now that part of training me had been lost and he had become a doting father to a replica of a child he had lost.

"Well goddammit, Bo. Spit the fuckin' something out, we ain't got all day." I said with a sigh of annoyance at the sudden quietness of the man. His eyes had glazed over slightly and he had gotten this far off look that almost made me think I had lost him already and better either man up and grab the pistol on the table or run like fuckin' hell. But at the sound of my voice he was suddenly deposited back into our world and with another grunt of distasted he continued scratching at his leg and narrowed his eyes on me.

"No matter what they are, or what they were, there's always gonna be that one second of deliberation before you chop their head off. It's only natural, and it's something that'll get you killed. But it's the only way you stay human, that one second of thought, of questioning is this really the right thing to be doing? You only allow yourself that one second though, any longer and you'll get a piece taken outta ya and quite frankly, that's just not allowed. Only the smart, quick and heartless survive in this world now. I can tell you that one from experience, kiddo, the only question that remains here now is; are you ready to sacrifice your humanity to live in a dead world? To kill or be killed?"

"I am." I swallowed at the lump forming in my throat; I thought I was ready to join that world. I knew I could do something if I didn't think about it, even if it was something you were taught from the beginning of your life not to do. I had to survive and get to my brothers, I'm sure God and my parents would release me of that sin if it was for something like that. How could you not forgive someone for killing another when it was for your own survival?

"Then pick up that goddamn gun." He demanded in a voice louder than I had heard for weeks. His eyes were narrowed and dilated, and he clenched his jaw tightly as he stared me down. This was the Bo I had first me; this was the man that scared off any human being that came across him. This was the man that was going to die alone, and I could tell he already knew that. Already knew how much of a wimp I really was. This was the man that could smell fear, and I was the one who was having it pour out of her very pores. I couldn't kill him, no matter the promise I had first made, then he had just been a pain in my ass acquaintance that I was ready to be rid of, but now, now he was the man that had protected and taken care of me for weeks. It was selfish of me, but I couldn't kill that man. Never.

"I can't shoot you Bo, I ain't gonna." I choked with a sob.

"Then you betta run, girly. I ain't gonna be responsible for you not gettin' to your brothers." He muttered at me, shaking his head he brought his hand back up to his hair and ran it through. He had scratched at that leg of his so much that his hand was covered in his blood, leaving a messy trail in his peppered hair. "I mean it! You get your skinny ass outta here. I'm just gettin' worse here, I ain't gonna last forever, Belle."

"Bo," I sighed.

"I know, I know. I gotta soft spot for you too, Emmy." I smiled slightly at him; he was a better man than anyone had ever gotten the chance to realize. He just hadn't had the proper moments in life to show that potential to people. I was glad that I had gotten to know him; it would've been a waste of a good soul otherwise. "Now get!" I jumped at the sudden harshness of his voice, nearly falling to the floor in the process.

I scrambled around the apartment as he began muttering to himself about things I couldn't quite make out, but by the way he was staring intently at the chair beside him I figured that he was hallucinating and was glad he had turned his vile last moments away from me and my mad rush. After securing me with everything I had first tried to leave with wrapped around my narrow frame I paused at the door, I had left the pistol on the table in front of him on the table, knowing he would use it before, or hoping really. I knew he was against suicide but refusing to kill him myself I had left him no other choice. It was cruel of me, but I couldn't bear to walk around with his blood on my hands.

"Bye, Bo."

He looked up at my voice and smiled slightly at me, "Good luck, you lil' priss." Shaking my head at the man with a solemn smile of my own I slipped out of my apartment for the last time. Iron skillet in my hand I crept down the stairs, Bo had secured the apartment complex but it wasn't unheard of for the lil' fuckers to come in every once in a while. For whatever they were, they were pretty fuckin' smart sometimes. I was on the first floor when I heard the sound of a pistol being fired, my heart throbbed at the sound and I let out a sob. Remembering what Bo had said he had figured out about those things and noise, I knew I couldn't stay here too long. I needed to get on the move before any crowd too big got too close to the apartment complex.

Pausing on the sidewalk I was pleased to see my Mustang just sitting there waiting for me, it looked like it hadn't been touched and as I rounded it I was pleased to see the gas tank securely locked and closed like I had left it. I had started out with a full tank, minus the quarter I had lost idling around the city trying to get out meant that I still had enough to get far enough away from the city and close enough to a gas station or at least some cars I could syphon from. Unlocking it I slipped my guns into the backseat along with the bag of food and weapons Bo had returned with and my duffel bag, sliding into the driver's seat I closed the door behind me and locked the doors before placing my skillet on the seat beside me, Bo had said the quieter the weapon the better at some point and that damn thing was as quiet as it could get. Along with the fact that Bo had taken it out on a run of his own with those damn things made me rely on it as more efficient than the guns I had sitting behind me.

Taking a deep breath I sat there quietly for a moment trying to calm myself and my emotions down, it hurt to know Bo was just upstairs dead and with that thought brought turbulent ones of my brothers. They had to be alive and safe; I couldn't be the thoughts any other way. Letting the tears leak out of my eyes I slid the key into the ignition and started the sturdy Mustang, roaring to life I was calmed by the sound of the engine. This car had been my daddy's, and nothing made me feel better than sitting in the worn leather seats and driving like we had when I was little.

The fact that the city was dead and mostly quiet was more pronounced as you drove through the streets. It was eerie and heartbreaking to see, even if the city had been hell when it was alive it was troubling to see civilization suddenly gone and the streets barren besides the abandoned and sometimes charred vehicles and tanks scattered across the city. I wasn't about to call the odd infected here and there staggering around as civilization, they were the death of it and I couldn't be happier to be leaving the place behind. Though I did decided to myself that I needed to figure out what to call those things, infected sounded like there was hope and at this point, I knew there was none. The only hope I had was the safety that hopefully still awaited me at Fort Benning.

I slammed on the brakes suddenly as a body collided with the side of the Mustang; this wasn't as surprising as I had hit a few of them already. What was surprising was the fact that he wasn't bloody or wanting to take a bite outta me, just rather startled looking. Leaning over the middle console I rolled down the window as he picked himself up off of the street, "Hey, you alright?" It was the first person I had seen besides Bo for weeks, I was just a little surprised and not all too worried that he may be dangerous. He looked more harmless than a golden retriever with the white and red baseball cap sitting atop his black head of hair and the overstuffed backpack that he was scrambling to pull back over his shoulders. By the look of him, he was Korean which made it amusing to see him running around Atlanta. I could hear Bo or my daddy rambling off something about him in the back of my head, and cracked a smile at the irony of it.

"Fine, sorry I hit your car." I shrugged at him, completely unconcerned with the collision he had made; he looked like he was fine, and no damage other than the flustered way he was looking all about. It wasn't the smartest idea for me to be idling and talking to the kid, but he had hit the car. "Where are you heading?"

"Outta the city, doll, obviously." I replied with a smirk.

"Me too. There's this camp at this old quarry if you're interested, it's not good to be by yourself." I wanted to point out that he was being a hypocrite, but the fact that camp implied more than one or two people seemed to pique my interest. "If you wanna give me a ride." He added as an afterthought. I didn't know the quarry he was talking about, and I didn't know if he was leading me to my death or something worse, but he was cute in a little brother sort of way and I sorta like the idea of people. It was deterring from the original goal to get to Fort Benning, but I figured I could always drag 'em along if I ended up liking the group and if I didn't, well I was a big enough bitch to tell you I had no qualms about leaving in the middle of the night.

"Hop in, doll." I said with a grin as I unlocked the door, he wasted no time in clambering in and securely rolling the window up. Shaking my head I eased the car back into movement and threw him a look as he sat panting beside me, his ass firmly planted on top of my skillet. Figured that wasn't too comfortable, but wasn't going to question the boy if he liked it. "Gimme some directions here, doll."

"Oh, right," He muttered sheepishly as he tried to adjust himself comfortably, I don't think he quite understood he was sitting on something. Rolling my eyes I reached over and grabbed for the handle of the skillet, causing him to jump up and shove himself against the window with wide eyes.

"Ain't gettin' fresh with ya," I snickered pulling the skillet to myself and up slightly to wave it at him. "Figured you might not wanna sit on this piece of shit."

"Yeah, that makes sense." He laughed settling back into the leather. Clearing his throat awkwardly a moment later at my persistent silence he began directing me out of the city; apparently he knew a lot of shortcuts. Would've liked to have had him weeks ago, I thought to myself, would've proved to have been useful for getting outta here.

"So you Korean?" I questioned in a friendly voice as I drove easily down the interstate on the inbound side, the side beside us was jam packed with vehicles. I felt like I had missed something important that had happened in the city at that point. The last time I had been on the streets, everyone was trying to get in, not out. I had figured the military would've blocked both entries and exits at some point as a way to control the virus, but considering the last news I had seen on TV before the military had started bombing the city was about how the city was reaching it's capacity and other nonsense that obviously hadn't been too true, I couldn't tell you why I was so surprised about the scene.

It was weird being with someone other than myself and Bo though, and was taking more effort than I had expected not to be like the older man. More than I would've liked, his social skills had rubbed off on me.

He laughed with a nod, "Everyone always things I'm Chinese of Japanese."

"Well, I'm obviously smarter than everyone. Yayness." I smiled, he was a nice enough kid, and took queues to be silent better than I had hoped.

"Totally!" He grinned back.

Though when you gave him the green light to talk, he was worse than a child, rambling off about his life in Atlanta and why he knew the streets so well – apparently he was a pizza delivery boy, which was hilarious to me – and about the people back at the camp. They had quite a group by the sound of it, which surprised me. I had figured people survived, but I hadn't figured such a large group would get together, not to mention that they sent him in every once in a while for supplies. I wondered for a second if he had ever come across Bo, but figured against it as he had never came back mumbling about some slant eyes trying to take his loot. The most amusing part about the kid, was that he never told me his name, or asked for mine. If my brothers had thought that I had been trusting before the world went to hell in a basket, than I had nothin' on this kid. He obviously had never gotten the 'don't talk to strangers' memo as a kid, or maybe at this point, in this world, it really didn't matter anymore.

"Hey," He commented as we drove up the long stretch of dirt road to this quarry of safeness he had just barely stopped rambling about. "I never told you my name. It's Glenn." He put his hand out to me cordially in a way that only suited before the world had become dead, shaking my head at his silliness but with an amused smile I put my own in his and gave it a shake. "This is when you tell me yours." He laughed.

"Nah, you can wait." I teased as I took back my hand and slowed down the Mustang as I began noticing the telltale signs of people, and a camp. I could see the top of a Winnebago, with a man standing on top beside an umbrella and a lawn chair. By the hurried gestures he was making up there, he had spotted the Mustang and was announcing our arrival. I was somehow nervous to be getting around all these people. A voice in the back of my head told me to drop the kid off and head back to the interstate, syphon some cars and figure out how to get to Fort Benning with all the cluster fuck traffic. But another told me to stay, maybe Bo had been wrong and being with a group would be more beneficial. Maybe.

The camp was what I had expected, Winnebago off to the side, tents scattered around, but close enough to be safe, a place for a fire, a few cars littered around too and then of course the group of people standing expectantly at the mouth of the camp. There was one man in the front of all of them – who I supposed to be the unofficial leader that Glenn spoke of, I think his name had been Shane – that had dark curly hair, broad shoulders and a annoyed look on his face, I knew immediately that if I stayed I'd be giving him a wide berth. I didn't like the gun I noticed that he lazily held in his hand either.

Once the car had come to a stop, Glenn was out of it like a bat outta hell. I remained inside and watched the people carefully as Glenn went to greet them. It looked like he was telling them about me, some of them looked curious, and at the mention of someone new I saw two kids – a little blonde headed girl and a brunette headed boy – trying to dart out from behind their mothers and the rest of the group to see. Another blonde woman that looked more entitled and holier than thou than was really necessary looked pissed at another mouth to feed. After a moment of deliberation by the curly headed fellow, Glenn turned slightly towards the car and motioned for me to get out. This was the moment I had to decide if I wanted to stay or not, I could very well whip the car around and leave knowing at least Glenn got back safely. Something compelled me to get out and swagger my way over to the cluster of survivors.

"Howdy ma'am, my name is Shane." The curly haired man drawled in his Georgian accent, my lips puckered as a thought knocked me on the head. I had worked ten years to get rid of the damn thing, and the six weeks I spent with Bo had made all of that effort void and null, because that man's voice certainly had the same drawl mine did. "This is Lori and Carl." He continued motioning to the little boy and what apparently was his mother for they shared the same hair color, but not the excitement, she held the stereotypical stern Southern momma look on her face as she appraised me. By the way Shane stood in front of them I supposed he was the father of the boy.

"Sophia, Carol and Ed are over there." Shane added motioning to the little girl that a woman with short hair had dragged away to a heavy set man with a scowl permanently set on his face. By the way the woman stood next to him, I could tell he wasn't the kindest of men.

"Andrea and Amy." It was the blonde woman who had been scowling since I drove up, and I guessed she was Andrea; such a name fit the uptight woman, and beside her was a younger girl about Glenn's age with the same blonde hair but a softer look about her.

"Dale is up on the Winnebago." Shane stated motioning back towards the vehicle where an older man stood with an arm up shielding his eyes as he watched the introductions, he sent a kind and cordial wave over to me and I merely smiled at him. He seemed nice enough, probably more of a father figure to some of these people than they'd prefer. He reminded me sorta of my daddy's pop, the Winnebago made that connection for me.

"Morales, Miranda, Eliza and Louis are down at the quarry." He stated easily, motioning again behind him to where a trail downwards peeked out to me. "Daryl and Merle'll be comin' back from huntin' here soon." By the way he had said their names; I figured they were the outcasts of this little renegade group. I supposed every group had to have one or two in this case, I was interested to see just how horrible they had to be the minority in this band of misfits. "And your name is…?"

"The name's Emily Louise – but you call me anything other than Emmy, and I'll beat your goddamn head in, understood?" I answered calmly, smiling cheekily at the good ol' Southern boy standing in front of me. Lori gasped at my mouth and immediately went to cover her boy's ears; he tried to shrug her off but failed miserably as the rest of the survivors who had remained there for introductions stared at me. Perhaps I had lost all of my social skills during my time with Bo, or maybe they had somewhere between surviving in this hell and getting to this little sliver of heaven.


	3. Two

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello again my dolls, here is the second chapter. Emmy meets Daryl and Merle in this one, I'm sad to say they don't get off as well as you'd hope; oh well. Thank you to bloodshadows and Dalonega Noquisi for leaving my first two reviews; you guys made me soooooo happy! Thanks to Dalonega Noquisi, PaganButterfly, qlara, and ruthie-r89 for adding this to their alerts; you made me equally happy guys! I'm so happy that you guys see some potential in Emmy's story. :)

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em> And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts,<em>  
><em>And I looked and behold: a pale horse.<em>  
><em>And his name, that sat on him, was Death.<em>  
><em>And Hell follwed with him.<em>

_The Man Comes Around by __Johnny Cash**  
><strong>_

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><p><strong>Two<strong>

Rubbing my arms for warmth, I sat awkwardly between Glenn and Amy around a fire that most of the group was positioned around aside from Daryl and Merle who were apparently brothers but hadn't returned from the woods, and Ed who I personally think had a social aversion to nice people. Amy, who was on my left, was actually a fairly nice girl, far nicer than her older sister that's for sure. Who was more of a bitch upon speaking to her than I had originally thought. She had nearly bitten my head off when I had spoken to Amy. But just because her sister was an annoying bitch didn't mean I'd hold it against the girl who had apparently been attending college in Atlanta, I wondered silently to myself after I had learned this if that was why she looked so familiar.

"So, how'd you get to Atlanta?" Dale asked with keen interest from across the fire, he had a plate of something in his lap that the rest of the group had variations of; upon offering of whatever it was I had politely declined. Shane had taken offense to this, Dale, the older man that had offered it to me, thankfully hadn't. I decided then that I really did like Dale, he was a nice man. "I'm sure the kids would love to hear a new story." Somehow I doubted mine would be all too riveting as I had been in Atlanta to begin with, not traveling to or from like most of the people around me had.

"I lived there; I was an Apprentice Chef at Monty's." As I had suspected no one was too interested by this simple answer besides Glenn and Dale. Glenn had actually taken quite a liking to me for whatever horrible reason I had yet to find out, I figured it was the Mustang though. That happened more often than not when it came to guys. It was depressing really.

"Oh, you're a Chef!" Dale exclaimed enthusiastically, by the way he had reacted you'd think culinary skills were more useful here than being able to handle a gun, but another look at the food on their plates made me actually think that to be true. I'm sure they didn't even know what real food tasted like anymore, not that I did either really. The last real food I had, had was chicken nuggets and macaroni. Not really something that was too appetizing compared to other meals I had had in the past.

"Maybe you can make this food actually taste good." Glenn grinned, nudging me in the shoulder as he picked up a spoonful and dropped in back onto the plate as it had an odd texture and smell. How long had they been eating this that they actually went about it willingly? Sophia and Carl giggled at his dramatic actions.

"Meh, I don't think even I'm that good." I commented shaking my head.

"What kind of restaurant was Monty's?" Dale questioned eagerly.

"It was French cuisine mostly, though on Sunday's we did Indian food for some reason." I explained with a casual shrug of my shoulders. I wondered if Macy was alright, I was almost sure that she wasn't, but at this point I couldn't help but be curious. Monty had been the first I had seen go through in the infection, faster than Bo had that's for sure. I wonder how quickly it had taken the business man that had bitten him.

"That's quite nice." Shane agreed, though I could almost for certainly tell you that he wasn't any more interested in my culinary skills than the absent Ed was, which was saying a lot considering the way the man had acted since I had entered the camp. I could tell he was naturally that way, but it didn't fail to irk me none the less. Especially with how damn adorable his daughter, Sophia, was. "So you've been in the city, all this time?" I wanted to smartly snap back that no, I'd been in Canada touring the mountains, but he looked too serious to be joking with and with that firearm still at his side, and his temper damn near questionable, I made the best decision and answered like my daddy woulda been proud of.

"Yeah, I was holed up in my apartment with a friend."

"Where's your friend?"

Clearing my throat, I shifted awkwardly at the question. He hadn't even been dead for six hours, this time yesterday he was still alive. Smoking on top of the roof with me, pining away for better times before he had to deal with a Belle and people trying to take bites outta ya. It was scary how quickly things changed. It was scary how you could be fine one minute and then gone the next, the world was more perilous than it had been, and it was just the beginning. "I-I had to leave him."

"Shane!" Lori hissed at the man loudly as he had begun to further question the matter, I saw the mother in her shining through, and by the small smile she sent my way after chastising the sturdy man, she must've given me some sort of sympathy, which was a step up from where she had previously held me in her sights. I don't think I had quite made up for using such horrible language in front of her son, but perhaps she'd be among the few that didn't want to kill me and that I didn't want to kill either. I could already tell the Carl was going to be some fun to be around.

"I'm sorry, Emmy." Dale sighed, shaking his head at me; it looked like he shared my pain. He didn't generally seem like he was that kind of person, though by the way he looked at Andrea and Amy, I could see whatever stony wall he had been building had a few holes in it. He seemed to be dotingly looking at me now too; I supposed this was a good thing. He seemed like the kind of man to have on your side, the kind you could trust with your life. Shane looked annoyed by him, but that just made me like Dale that much more.

"It's fine. Life happens, ya know?" Everyone nodded solemnly around the fire, everyone here had their fair share of losses in this new world, you could tell. They may not wear them or their sleeves, and some of them may not have been fresh wound on their skin and soul, but you could just tell that they all carried their own burden in this new world; no matter how small or big, we all did.

"You said you were heading somewhere, when you found me." Glenn started, with interest that the rest of them picked up quickly. I don't know if they expected me to tell them I had the golden promise lands secret location at the tip of my fingers and was ready to lead them there or what, but they seemed genuinely interested – even Shane – in where lil' ol' me had been heading. I couldn't decide if I should tell them or not, just like I hadn't decided if I was staying or not. It could be a good idea, but then again they all did look awful comfortable here. Who knew if they would want to go if I told them, who knew if they'd believe me. Fuck, who knew if Fort Benning was even safe still. It had been six weeks ago, but six weeks was a long time. I didn't even know if Zane was still alive and well there, fuck the whole place could be overrun with these monsters and I could be leading them to their deaths. I swallowed; Fort Benning would be my secret. For now anyways. "Where was that?"

Rubbing at the back of my neck, I struggled to come up where somewhere, anywhere really. For all I cared it could be Russia and I could pull the idea off, it just couldn't be Fort Benning, which was the last place on the list. With how Shane was looking at me now, I'm sure he wouldn't believe me even if I did tell them that was where I was heading before Glenn ran into my car. "To my brothers," I finally decided with a sad smile. "We were supposed to meet up ages ago, but I just recently got the chance and..." I trailed off uncertainly, it was different actually voicing the fact, actually telling another person about the fears I had about my brothers. Bo had always just assumed I never had to tell him a word for him to just understand the worry.

"I'm sure they're waiting for you still." Carol supplied with a small smile as Sophia and Carol voiced their agreement on the matter. If only that could be true, at the very least I just hoped they were all still locked up tight at their bases.

"Yeah," I grinned at the kids with a shred of enthusiasm. "Family's gotta stick together, right?" Carl seemed a little put off by this statement but agreed none the less alongside his little friend, they were rather adorable together the two of 'em. I'm sure they had little crushes on each other too.

"How many brothers do you have?" Dale inquired.

"Four. Zane, Grady and Missouri are the triplets, then its Travis, then me."

"Whoa." Glenn muttered.

"What'd they do before?" Lori asked.

"Zane, Grady and Travis were in the Military, Air Force, and Marines. Missouri was a beat cop in Dallas, Texas." Carl eyes lit up at the mention of Missouri.

"Shane's a cop! My dad was one too!" He exclaimed, bubbling over with excitement. I was confused to hear him refer to Shane by his name and then spurt off about another father, perhaps my first assumption had been wrong and Shane wasn't his dad. It was quite clear the sexual tension between Lori and Shane though, so maybe they were married now or something. It was really fuckin confusing really, and by the look Lori was giving her son, I figured the dad was dead. I felt sorry for the kid, at his age no boy should be without a father, even if he seemed to have surrogated one with Shane here. The thought left me unsettled; there was something off about Shane and I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"No way! Now that just exciting! Missouri always had the best stories to tell!" I grinned with equal enthusiasm at the boy, who seemed to get that much more excited if it was even possible. It was an excitement that spread to Sophia and the other two kids with zeal. It was different being around kids again, that much was sure.

"My dad did too! He was the best." He had a somber smile on his young face as he spoke of the man, I could tell he had adored him. He probably had wanted to be a cop just like he was before the dead started walking and chewin' on everyone. It was sad to see someone so young trapped in this hell.

"C'mon Carl, let's get to bed." Lori stated softly but with a force that Carl knew she meant business, he rose from his seat besides Sophia with little resistance but I noticed the crestfallen expression on his face at the moment his mother had interrupted his excited description of his father. Maybe it was still a tough subject for her, but either way it was cruel to her son to not let him talk about him. For someone as sweet as Carl to come from the two of them, I figured he took after his father, and had been interested to listen to the boy talk about him. Morales and his family followed Lori's queue and ducked out of view into the safety of their tent.

"We need to, too, Sophia." Carol agreed in a more agreeable tone to her daughter, by the way that girl acted to everything around her, I figured she wasn't too hard to get to do things. She seemed wary but excited about everything around her, and at the mention of death she looked like she was ready to bolt. She was a skittish creature indeed, I decided as she stood quickly with her mother and the two of the scuttled over to the tent Ed had been hiding in since I had arrived. It was a pity such a darling mother and daughter belonged to such a man; they deserved better, that much was for sure.

After the pair of mothers and their children had left the rest of us remained quietly around the fire, Dale got up once to retrieve more wood for the fire and Shane and Andrea stared into the flickering flamed with a similar look, of what I couldn't quite tell you. Amy and Glenn continued to pick at the undeniably cold food on their plates and I waited patiently for them to disperse so I could go hide in my car. I wasn't much for camping – no matter how many times my brothers and daddy had dragged me out into the woods – and the fact that I knew what animals could be out here made me want to be in something a little more solid than a tent at night.

"You from Dallas then?" Shane asked suddenly, looking up from the flames to my eyes with a dark gaze that sent a shiver down my spine.

"I grew up down in Savannah, but my parents moved us to Dallas when I was a freshman. Stayed there in Texas for the rest of high school and college – went to Texas A&M." He sniffed indignantly at me and nodded his head, perhaps he didn't like I was a native Georgian, or perhaps he just didn't like that I was alive and breathing, either way the feeling was mutual. "Where you from?"

"King County. You heard of it?"

I grinned, my momma had grown up in that town and we had spent a few summers here and there in her old family house. It didn't have very many fond memories for me, but I remembered my momma had loved it and so had my brothers. "Yeah, my momma grew up there. Went there every summer until we moved to Dallas." He seemed even more appalled by me now.

"Where are your parents?" Dale butted in, causing me to swivel my head back in his direction. I hadn't heard him come back or throw the log onto the fire, he surprised me so much that I nearly fell off the log the three of us sat on.

"My daddy died of liver failure in '05 and my momma of brain cancer in '07." Those had been the roughest two years of my life, I had nearly enlisted in the Marine's after my daddy had died but stayed after my momma had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. It was when she passed a year later did my brothers talk me into using the money momma had saved up all these years and go to culinary school. It was three years later that I wound up in Atlanta, and four months before shit went to fuck and I met Bo. Now I was here, and it was all still hard to handle. Time flew when your life was a chaotic mess.

"I'm sorry." Dale responded gravely. "My wife, Erma, died a few months before the outbreak. They're all just lucky they don't have to live like this." I agreed with him there, I rather it be me than my parents. I knew my daddy could've survived without a second thought, but all the death and carnage would've broken my momma the very first day, she was a soft soul like that.

"I'm headin' to bed," Shane stated briskly rising to his feet, his hands going to his hips in what I suppose he thought made him look official and somewhat of an authority figure. "Dale, you got first watch. I'll relieve you in a few hours." The two men nodded silently at each other, though I could tell in that moment that the two of them didn't particularity care for the other. It made me like Dale that much more quite frankly. "G'night ladies." He tipped his head to the three of us before disappearing over to the tent I had watched Lori and Carl go into earlier. It was after he had left that Andrea decided she was ready for bed too, leading Amy away without a second thought, I was left with Glenn and Dale. Probably the only two of the group that I could actually get along with.

"You goin' to be staying with us then?" Dale asked hopefully. I hadn't really decided yet, it was a more of for the moment kinda deal that I was thinking on here, but they seemed nice enough, seemed like they had a pretty good set up here too. I could stand to mill about here for a while, ease myself into having to deal with those things by myself. I, quite frankly, didn't know how long I'd last by myself either. I knew I could and would, I just couldn't promise myself I'd get to my brothers completely sane, bot that I had been to begin with, but the point remained the same.

"I'm thinkin' on it." I explained with a shrug of my shoulders. Dale and Glenn seemed equally satisfied at the thought. It was endearing the way Glenn excitedly bumped shoulders with me at the prospect of me staying for good or even for just a while. Like I had said in the beginning – like a golden retriever he was.

"I got a place for you in the RV if you're interested." Dale added kindly, with a smile on his weathered face. I knew Andrea was sleeping in that thing and didn't want to go too close to it when she was in there if I didn't have to, avoiding an inevitable conflict I was.

"It's cool; I'll sleep in the 'Stang." I grinned; he seemed put off by my refusal but nodded his head in understanding as he rose to his feet with a groan.

"Catch you two in the morning." He said with another soft smile to the two of us before disappearing over in the direction of the Winnebago. It was only Glenn and I now, and I was quickly out of my comfort zone. Safety in numbers when you're out in the woods, my daddy had said. With the scrawny Korean and my already malnourished self, I didn't think this was quite the definition of number he had in mind. I was this close to ducking it out and clambering into the safety of the Mustang before any animal out there could get wind of my vulnerability. It was funny really that I was more worried about animals than I was the things that were back down in the city, as scary as they were, I much rather have not run into the animals out here in the woods.

"First night out in the woods?" Glenn questioned with a laugh after I had jumped at the noise of crickets. Crickets, really, I chastised myself, I was being insanely silly.

"Nope," I replied, making special emphasis to pop the 'p'. The first time I had spent a night outdoors had been when I was a five, I had hated it that first time admittedly, but he didn't need to know that and my daddy hadn't either. I just had to get to the car, and wait for the sun to come up and then everything would be fine. Or at least as fine as things could be anymore. "I think I'll be goin' to the Mustang now." I muttered, jumping to my feet at another odd noise from somewhere around us, I didn't like it that was for sure, Glenn however found it amusing as he followed my lead and stood up beside me.

"Goodnight, Emmy. Try not to get eaten on the way." He sniggered at me with a grin as he backed away to his tent. I did not in any circumstances enjoy the way he was teasing me, nor did I like the fact that he was actually sorta kinda getting to me. It took more effort than necessary to calmly walk over to my car and ignore every noise I heard crackling around me. I was such a wimp when it came to being out at night, dammit. The dead that were walking around the city and the wildlife out here were more than enough cause to be weary though, I assure you.

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><p>My back ached. My arm was asleep. I couldn't feel my feet and I had the oddest crick in my neck when I woke up the next morning. It was stuffy in the car, the air more stagnant than it had been yesterday after weeks of not being used. It smelt like old tobacco peach wine coolers; the tobacco was from when my daddy had owned the car, and I figured the peach wine cooler scent was from when I had first gotten the car and went on a joyride with some of my old friends in Dallas. I had been sixteen with a mouth that got my ass busted more times than not and a taste for peaches, not much had changed admittedly. Squinting my eyes open against the light streaming in through the tinted windows I could assume that it was early in the morning, maybe seven or eight at the latest. Grunting I sat up in the small backseat and stretched my arms up over my head, resounding pops followed the motion. Stretching my fingers I rubbed at my eyes with the heel of my hands, I felt like shit, quite frankly and didn't look forward to climbing out of the car and meeting these people in the light of day. Before I could think on this any longer, the little boy – Carl – was at my window knocking with a toothy grin on his face. I sighed, this was going to be one helluva day, and I could just feel it.<p>

"Whaddya need kiddo?" I asked with a lazy grin after I had climbed over the driver's seat and popped the front door open. He was just as bubbly and excited as he had been last night, though he was more adorable in the light of day. It was obvious now too that he wasn't Shane's, didn't have one similar bone in their body it looked like.

"We got some breakfast if you're hungry." At this point, my stomach barely growled at the mention of food. Bo had kept the two of us pretty well fed, I had a bag of food sitting behind me on the floorboards to prove that much, but we had been pretty strict when it came to rationing the stuff out, never knowing when or if he'd come across more. Then the fact that I had a pretty good idea that this breakfast they were talking about was gruel, made me a very unhungry girl. "Shane wants to talk to ya too." I couldn't help but sigh at this mighty leader of theirs, it was a wonder they had gotten on so long with such an uptight creature. Shit, I wouldn't be surprised if he threw them all to the wolves one day to save his own ass, he had that look about him, in his eyes that made it seem like he had little to no backbone. Made me sick.

"Mmkay, kid. I'mma comin'." I grunted, pulling myself out of the car I nearly toppled over him. Damn feet were all tingly, and it was gonna be one bitch to walk for a while. I needed to figure out a new sleeping arrangement if I was gonna stay any longer, that was for sure. Fuck, I needed one even if I wasn't. Sleeping in the back of that car was gonna be the death of me.

The group seemed to be more full and vibrant this morning. Dale was back up on the Winnebago and waved at me once he noticed me stumbling after the scrawny little boy. Morales and his family were laughing about something amongst themselves. Amy and Andrea sat beside each other listening to Glenn tell some kind of dramatic story I guessed by the wave of his hands. Carol, Sophia and Ed were close to where Lori was sitting, Carl running over to sit back with his mother almost immediately. Shane was amongst that group with a stern look on his face as he had watched Carl dart away from me. I didn't take the kid's behavior personally, but by the way he looked at me made me think he thought that I had just beaten the kid and he was running for his life.

"Good morning, ya'll." I smiled at then nicely, trying to discern if I had more enemies than friends or not. I could tell who liked me and who I liked back pretty easily, but by the shifty looks I kept getting from Lori I didn't know if I had a label on my forehead or not.

"Mornin'." Shane grunted back. Well, color me welcomed.

"Here." Glenn said kindly as he offered up a plate of whatever it was after I had taken a seat beside him. Politely shaking my head I waited patiently for the gun wielding leader to call me out on whatever or try to speak to me like the kid had insisted he wanted to. I was about ready to start throwing rocks at him when Lori caught my attention.

"We're gonna be going down to the quarry to wash some laundry in ten minutes, do you want to come with us?" I puckered my lips. Laundry. It hadn't been my forte when I actually had a washer and dryer to do most of the manual labor for me, so I somehow doubted it'd be my talent now when I figured washboards and the quarry was involved. But by the sideways glance both Ed and Shane spared me, I sorta felt like it was do or die. Besides, I figured, maybe it'd give me a chance to figure these women out.

"Yeah, I could figure that out." I finally decided with a casual shrug of my shoulder, her and Carol seemed pleased by my agreement, along with Amy who bounced excitedly beside her sister at the mention of me joining them – at least someone sane and agreeable would be there. I figured it'd be all of the woman down there washing clothing then, I couldn't tell you if I was amused by this or not. But, at least they had clean clothes and I had to admit, none of them smelt all that bad. Not that I had really gotten too close to any of them. But, still.

Settling down on the rocks beside them I didn't object when no one passed me a washboard, of no, I reveled in when they merely passed the clothing down the line to me to throw into the laundry basket. Easiest damn task I had ever been given, though I was suspicious of why I was given it. Andrea didn't seem like the kind of woman that would let me off so easily, not that she was the little president of the group, which seemed to fall to Lori. After twenty or so minutes, one basket full of clothes and another on its way I frowned at the pile of sleeveless shirts and denim I had been continuously passed. I had noticed a lot of them donned that look, but this was just pitiful. There weren't enough men in camp to wear all of these shirts that had absolutely _no_ sleeves. What were we, savages?

"Who do all these plaid shirts belong to?" I finally asked with a quirked eyebrow, not bothering to even question the plaid boxers I had been tossed.

"The _Dixon's_." Andrea spat as she scrubbed at another shirt, a dirtier look on her face than the one she had been giving me most of the time I had been down here with them. I didn't remember any mention of Dixon's but the two brothers who had been absent instantly came to mind, perhaps they were these Dixon's that the blonde despised more than me, and with a careful look at the other faces around me, it looked like it was an all-around deal. So at least I had that going for me, I thought to myself, though even if they were the two they loved to hate, they couldn't be that bad. The way Andrea said their name made them seem like the children of the devil himself.

"Are they evil or something?"

"Pure evil. Inbred rednecks." Andrea fumed. Apparently this was a sore subject for her, which made me more curious about the entire situation and sorry for the two men she had a very strong dislike for. The rest of the woman didn't look as peeved as her now, just generally annoyed by the thought of them. It was interesting; I had a whole world wind of reasons why that was so being flung about my head like a hurricane.

"They can't be that bad," I muttered in defense for a pair of men I had never met and at the rate they were going, probably never would and if I did, they'd probably end up proving me wrong. That right there was the epitome of irony. "No one is that bad." I added thinking of Bo and all the chances no one had ever given him. I'm sure they would've thought that he was the same, if not worse. How could I not defend the strangers when I had known how good Bo had been deep down? Waste of souls to me that was.

Andrea scoffed, appalled even more by me now. "They are they're horrible! Especially Merle, you just wait until you have to deal with them, then you see how no one can be _that_ bad."

"Andrea's right, Emmy. Just steer clear of them." Amy voiced her opinion from beside her sister, and I rolled my eyes. Thick as thieves it looked like, just like my brothers and I were. At least when it came to us though, we didn't blindly agree to each other hates and loves. Momma had raised better kids than that.

"Whatever." I muttered in annoyance with the woman and whatever prejudice she held over the brothers and now me, roughly snatching the article of clothing from Carol, causing her to jump in fright. Lori narrowed her eyes on me to which I rolled my own. Carol was turning out to be jumpier and softer than I had thought, she was tough in her own way by the way she watched her husband around Sophia, but it so many other ways she was your typical abused house mouse. Scared of her own damn shadow and every one else's. "Sorry." I apologized lightly to her, she seemed upset with herself for reacting to me in such a way and I decided I'd continue to humor the woman. She did have to deal with that sloth Ed, she deserved some slack.

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><p>It was high noon when chaos hit the camp in the form of two brothers returning from the hunt with spoils of squirrels and a deer. I had been playing with Sophia and Carl at the time, I think we were supposed to have been playing hide and seek, but I couldn't quite be sure. I had been too busy spying Lori and Shane trapeze off minutes apart to go get fire wood, I wondered if they really did think everyone was that stupid, including Carl.<p>

"Look here boy; we got ourselves a new bitch to feed!" What looked to be the older of the two with a short military issue haircut, shouted with a sneer in my direction. My arms crossed over my chest defensively as he looked me up and down, "And she a pretty one!"

"What're ya shoutin' about now?" Another one grunted, clearing the tree line with an effort as he tugged the buck behind him. Glancing between them I could easily notice the resemblance, I noticed the similar cut off shirts; just like the ones we had washed hanging off of them too. Looking at him, I noticed that the one pulling the buck was younger, by a lot it looked. He had a greasy mop of brown hair on his head with a pair of blue eyes looking at all of us with that eye of the hunter; predatory and calculating, downright scary if he stared at you too long. To top the end of the world survivor look off he had a bow slung around his torso – which piqued my interest more than I cared to mention, bows were a dying talent before shit hit the fan, didn't wanna think about how dead it was now – with a rope of squirrel hanging off of his shoulder. Glancing to his brother again it looked like he was carrying most of the weight in this situation.

"Leave the poor girl alone, Merle." Dale defended from my side, appearing out of thin air it seemed like. Last I had heard of him he had been down in the quarry trying to fish or something with the two sisters he had picked up. Out of all of them he and Amy were the only ones Andrea seemed genuinely civil with at times, it was frightening.

"I'll do what the fuck I want to, ol' man!" Merle shouted, tipping slightly to the side as he had raised his fist to shake at Dale. I quirked an eyebrow, was he stoned? He sure as fuck looked stoned or somethin'. "What yo' name, skinny bitch?" Sounded a lot like Bo too, I couldn't decide if this was a good thing or not. I had just gotten rid of one foul mouthed man, did I really want to deal with another one. Who looked like a druggie to boot, he was seriously tricked out right now. His eyes were dilated and everything, I couldn't believe it.

"Name's Emmy. You must be the Dixon's."

He laughed in a delayed way, tipping to the side again his brother made a grab for him, to which he shook him off with an annoyed look that wasn't one that was generally friendly. "See ya heard o' us."

"Oh yes," I stated with ease, trying not to laugh at his younger brother who was becoming flustered with the entire situation, couldn't blame him really, this wasn't one you really wanted to be in ever. Looked like a line was drawn in the sand and they were on one side and the rest of the camp was on the other. Sillier thing was it looked like these two boys were their source of food – damn good reason not to hate them I say, but it was also probably the only reason they put up with them.

"This here is my baby brotha, Daryl." He explained jutting his thumb over to the man. Daryl. Suited him just fine it did, if he didn't look like he had just crawled outta a pig stomach I might've said he had some looks about him. But it was hard to tell with whatever mask he had bathed in. I could smell him from here too.

"Charmed, I'm sure." I smirked as Daryl merely nodded his head, glancing at his brother he looked him up and down before deeming him to be safe or whatever the hell he was before wrapping the rope tighter around his hand and began dragging the buck further into the camp, leaving a trail of blood behind him. Well, if that wasn't a cookie trail right to us, nothing was, I noticed with distaste.

"C'mon Emmy," Glenn prodded, grabbing a hold of my arm and pulling me away from the leer of the eldest Dixon. Glenn seemed wary of him, with good reason I'm sure. Looked like he had a temper that one, that Daryl too. You could just see it on their faces. I could understand now, their general dislike for the brothers, well at least Merle; Daryl actually seemed rather nice in his quiet brooding way. Looked like a package deal though, sadly enough. Maybe Merle was like Bo though, a tough nut to crack but genuinely soft on the inside. Glancing over my shoulder at him I scowled and took it back as he made a provocative hand gesture in my general direction. I wasn't any prude, but that was just fuckin' sick. We had kids around here! Cussin' around them was one thing, but shit like that was basically like shittin' on the goddamn bible in general terms.

"Well aren't they just fuckin' peachy." I muttered as Andrea passed in front of us, she didn't even stop for a second just gave me that condescending look that made you feel an inch tall, like you weren't any smarter than a fuckin' tree. It was the look I fuckin' hated, the one you got from those smarter than you folks who went to college for bullshit degrees. What pissed me off more that she was right, well, about one of 'em anyway. But two apples couldn't fall too far from the same tree, could they? I knew my brothers and I were more similar than we'd prefer most times, and I figured the same for most siblings. Suppose Daryl Dixon was a lost cause too then.

"'Ey girl! You know how to skin anythin'?" Fuck, I thought to myself as the blue eyed hunter called out to me, if there had been anything I could actually get into while being dragged out for camping and survival training with my daddy, it was the hunting. My momma threw up at the mention of skinning some poor fluffy friend, and me? At ten I had gone around school bragging that I had helped my big brothers and daddy skin a deer, had the goddamn head mounted on the wall back in Dallas to prove it too.

"Depends on what it is." I replied with a raised eyebrow, Glenn had tensed beside me and Dale who had been on his way back to the Winnebago stopped too. Both of them were looking at the Redneck like he had grown another head. Even Andrea was looking at him with narrowed eyes from the seat she had taken beside Amy, and what little excitement I had gotten over the idea of skinning some little animal was quickly dying. By the way they were acting it seemed like he was starting a plot against me. Could it really not just be something simple with these people? If I didn't know any better I'd say they thought he was going to start killin' all of us. Did they really think that lowly of him? He seemed like he'd snap at any given moment, but I figured he was better than his older brother. If only a little. Looked like he was pretty good at huntin' too by the bow by his side and string of squirrels he was looming over, figured he feed the whole damn lot of 'em. People and gratitude sucked more now than it had before obviously.

"Squirrels and 'is buck. Figured ya could try bein' useful." Daryl replied before spitting at the dirt beside him with distaste. Didn't quite know where he got off telling me to be useful, figured I couldn't get any more useful if I actually tried either, if it was between skinning animals and doing laundry. "If ya ain't a priss that is." That word had become endearing on Bo's lips, but on this man, coming from him it felt like the insult it was intended to be.

I snorted at him and stepped away from Glenn with determination, I had the sudden urge to prove this man wrong. Just because I looked like the Southern Belle my momma had raised me to be, and acted like it more times than not, didn't mean my daddy and brothers didn't have an equally substantial effect on me. "I'm not a fuckin' priss, dick face. I know how to skin some damn animals." Though I spared a quick glance around me to make sure the kids or Carol weren't close by, I just knew she'd tattle on me to Lori and whatever shitty advances I had made with her when we had been cleaning closed would be tossed to the wayside and I'd be getting her evil look again; Carl had told me I hadn't even seen the worst of it yet, and I didn't particularly want to. She reminded me too much of my own momma for it not to bother me.

He smirked at me, "C'mon, ain't got all day, _priss_." My eyes narrowed dangerously on his sparkling blue orbs as I took another step towards him and the dead carcasses of food. I could just tell you from that moment on that he was going to be a pain in my ass, more so than Andrea that was for sure. Time to go about proving the asshole wrong. Hadn't felt this much ambition sense I had moved to Dallas and had to prove all those goddamn cowboys how stupid and insignificant their little horses and ranches were; I figured this might end up being awfully similar.


	4. Three

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello there lovely dolls, here's chapter three. I hope you all continue to enjoy; we get the story of how Jacqui, Jim and T-Dog get to the camp in this one. Thank you again to bloodshadows and Dalonega Noquisi for giving me reviews again, you guys make me feel special. :) Thank you to I Don't Bite-much, PerfectMonstah.x, Shadow-Schemer1991, Crazy WiAtch and yingyang58 for adding this to your favs. Thank you to musicforsanity and Crazy WiAtch for adding this to your alerts. :)

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>The way we live, the way we die,<br>__What a tragedy, I'm so terrified.  
>Daydreamers please wake up,<br>We can't sleep no more._

_Love don't make no sense,  
>Ask your neighbor,<br>The winds have changed, it seems,  
>That they've abandoned us.<br>The truth hurts, and so does yesterday  
>What good is love, if it burns bright and explodes in flames?<em>

_Sincerely Jane, by Janelle Monae _

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><p><strong>Three<strong>

I had decided with a lot of certainty within a short amount of time, that I did not like Daryl fuckin Dixon. He hadn't done anything really to piss me off intentionally, at least not to the naked eye. But he had this way about him that could and would just drive you insane. I had been ready to the skin the bastard next at some point; it was then that Dale called me over to the Winnebago. Daryl didn't seem to like the intrusion into whatever silence he thought he needed to work and had scowled over in the direction of the old man. Rolling my eyes I had thrown the half skinned squirrel into his lap with an amused raise of my eyebrow as he had jumped when it hit my target.

Hauling my ass up the ladder on the side of the Winnebago I plopped down beside the man with a huff and crossed my arms, staring out across the camp and woods surrounding it. It was a rather pretty view up there and nearly made you forget what a fucked up world you lived in. Almost. But then I sent a glance back down to where the lovely younger Dixon was muttering to himself and shaking his head about my incompetency in skinning animals I'm sure and then it smacked me right dab back into the face and I went back to sulking. It was just rude how he had been acting since the moment he stepped back into the camp; yet everyone was eye ballin' him like he was doin' some new trick. He was insufferable, I decided as I jutted my chin out.

"Don't let him bother you. He's like that with everyone." Dale commented with a wise smile on his lips. I wanted to roll my eyes at him for trying to soothe my woes when I hadn't even known him for a full twenty four hours, but when I looked up at him I actually saw some sincerity for my wellbeing in his eyes and I couldn't quite get myself to. "Just give them Dixon's the space the rest of us do, and you'll be just fine." Seemed to be the advice I was getting a lot lately.

I sighed and nodded my head, "Seems to be the local know how." He grinned at my agreement and nodded his own head before turning back and giving the area a wide sweep of his eyes. I noticed Glenn out of the corner of my eye talking to the recently returned Shane about something that seemed more dramatic than it should be with the gesturing all around his hands kept making. I wasn't quite sure what they were talking about considering I was still new and trying to figure out their general dynamic around here anyway, but one thing was for sure – I was damn interested.

Bringing it to Dale's attention he shook his head at my request for intelligence, "I don't know what the problem is. They usually get along." Well usually wasn't always, I thought to myself as I crawled back over to the ladder and slid my way down. Best to figure out what was happening sooner rather than later and I could always deck Shane if he was harassing my new little friend.

Glenn noticed my approach before Shane did, which considering he was a cop was quite a surprise and appalled me at what hands we were leaving out safety in. Sliding up next to the Korean I raised my eye at the Georgian boy, "What's goin' on?"

Sniffing at me and narrowing his eyes on the two of us, he rested his hands on his hips, "Need to go back into the city; running into you cost us some stuff." Did I sense a bit of resentment there? I was quite positive I had and quite luckily for them, I wanted to go back into the city.

"I'll go back, gimme the list or whatever and consider it done." I said evenly, shrugging my shoulders in an offhandedly way. His eyes narrowed solely on me now.

"You don't have to do that, Emmy. I can go by myself." Glenn defended immediately, placing a hand on my shoulder lightly as I stared down Shane.

"You ain't goin' back in that city." Shane's voice was firm and I couldn't help but smirk; it was absolutely adorable how he thought he could actually tell me what I was and wasn't going to do. Just because the rest of these nutcases had taken to him like sheep to their herder did not mean I was going to as well. He hadn't saved my life and I didn't owe him my loyalty and it didn't look like he was going to be earning it any time soon anyway.

"That's real cute. I'm _goin'_."

"You really don't have to, Emmy." Didn't matter if I had to or not; now I fuckin' wanted to for more than just helping out. Now it was the battle of the wills. I wasn't goin' to be the one losing either. That one was for sure.

"You ain't. That's final."

I scoffed at him, taking one step closer, "You ain't my daddy or my big brothers, so you sure as fuck ain't gonna be tellin' me what I ain't doin'." I emphasized the point by roughly poking the overly puffed man in the chest roughly. If we didn't already dislike each other it was quite clear now that it was war. Thing that made the man in front of me all the sadder looking in my eyes was that I was more worried about Andrea than I was him; wondered what that would do to his ego. "Now, if you don't mind, I just remembered that I'm playin' hide and seek." I smiled brightly at him before spinning on my heel and marching back to where I was pretty sure I had left the two munchkins.

After rounding the two kids up and apologizing profusely for forgetting that I was playing with them – which was lucky because Carol found them and wanted them to do homework or something another – I returned to the top of the Winnebago with Dale. He was quiet, like I was finding he often was, his gaze was turned to the lake where I could spot two heads of blonde hair. It was interesting the relationship between the three of them when just six weeks ago they didn't even know each other.

"What happened?"

"Goin' back into Atlanta."

"Figured that, you got pretty loud there. Did Shane not agree?"

I snorted at the simple word of 'agree'. I don't think that man agreed with anything; but for the spineless creature I had pegged him for he seemed pretty adamant about me staying here. I figured it'd be safer for Glenn if I tagged along, I'm sure he had been going in and out for the past few weeks as needed, but it did always help to have someone watch your back. I had this nagging feeling too that he was some sort of magnet for trouble. "No."

"Just ignore him, Emmy; he's just one man with a big mouth." He did have one big fuckin mouth, didn't he? Though I had already planned on ignoring the former cop, it seemed to strengthen the resolve with Dale telling me to. He had known him and been around him for a lot longer than I had – even if it really wasn't that long at all if you really thought about it – so I planned on following his advice to a tee.

"Sounds like a plan, old man. Anyone ever tell you that you're pretty damn good at advice?" I asked smiling up at him.

"A few; but not near as many as you'd think." He laughed patting my shoulder.

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><p>Glenn had announced to the entirety of the camp last night that he was going to have to go for another supply run sooner rather than later; sooner being the next morning. He had recollected a list of things people wanted afterwards.<p>

I had been ready to spend another night in the back of my car, but right before I had climbed into the back, a rolled up sleeping back hit me in the back. It stunned me to say the least and when I spun around to see who was behind me I found nothing but the dark wilderness that made me nervous. But there was another thing that bothered me more and that was how cramped and uncomfortable I had woken up. If everything went according to plan and I went into the city with Glenn, I decided that I'd have to be at the top of my game, and sleeping in the back of the Mustang would do nothing more than piss me off more.

So last night, I slept out in the open. I didn't necessarily sleep, but more sat propped up against the back tire of the car, but I could breathe easier and wasn't folded into the size of a piece of paper, so I called it a success. If even a little one.

I was awake earlier than I had been yesterday, and had taken a very quick dip in the lake before changing into a new pair of clothes. It went against the rules I had heard in passing from Dale to go down there alone, but I figured what the fuck, if I was gonna die I might as well get to walk around as a naked motherfucker. The navy wife beater was now sticking uncomfortably to my still damp skin – you never seemed to be dry in this Georgian humidity and heat dynamic duo.

Just a few of us were up at this ungodly hour; Shane, Dale, Daryl, Glenn and me. Though Daryl had disappeared back out into the woods not too long after I had come back up from the lake. Glenn was sitting down close to the dead fire going over the lists he had been given last night. Shane was cleaning a pair of guns over on the picnic table. Dale was on his Winnebago like a vigil, taking the early morning watch. I sat on the hood of the Mustang watching who was awake and what little people were beginning to stir in their tents.

"When do you wanna leave?" I called out to Glenn, with a smirk as he jumped slightly in his seat.

"Ten minutes."

"Sweet. We'll take the Mustang." I smiled to which Glenn nodded his head enthusiastically; I could tell he had a thing for nice cars by the way he had been eye balling the Mustang since the sun came up yesterday.

"I told you that you ain't goin'." Shane stated roughly, not even bothering to spare me a glance over his guns. I rolled my eyes at him; I thought we had gone over this already. He may have been everyone else's boss but he sure as fuck wasn't mine. I'd die before I let a man like him tell me what to do; I'd sooner go for a toss in the sheets with Merle quite frankly.

"Yeah, well shit's still the same as yesterday. You ain't my boss." I gritted my teeth, trying to stop myself from speaking any louder. From rushing over there and sockin' him in the mouth. I actually sorta kinda liked it here and didn't wanna fuck it up just yet, but he was making it real fuckin' hard not to. He was more insufferable than Daryl, comparing the two made Daryl seem like a goddamn saint.

Standing quickly as if sensing the conflict between the two of us, that you'd have to be blind and deaf not to notice really, Glenn made his way over to me as he secured the same backpack from when we had first met around his shoulders. He had an urgent look about him since the moment Shane had spoken to me. I couldn't tell if he was trying to get out of dodge for his own sake or if it was for mine too. Either way, I guess our ten minutes was up.

"You can't just go runnin' out there 'cause you feel like it!" Shane shouted, his hands turning into firsts at his sides as he stood up from the picnic table and took a dangerous step towards us. My eyes narrowed on his; I didn't know what he was trying to accomplish here, but whatever it was he was making himself look like a royal fuckin' ass. "You're gonna get your scrawny ass killed!" As his shouts got louder, the crowd that began peeking out of their tents curiously got bigger. First on the scene – staggering outta his tent like he was God's gift of a nuisance to the world – was Merle. His eyes were bloodshot and they squinted at Shane with a burning anger that burned hotter than mine, and if he wasn't so unsteady on his feet I would've thought he'd charge across the camp and knock the ol' copper down to his ass and the very last peg.

"My life – so I'll get my scrawny ass killed if I want to!" I hissed, though I really hoped I wouldn't get my ass killed. Bo would be all kindsa pissed, and I just had a feeling I was gonna end up in hell where no doubt Bo was too; and well, living the rest of eternity with him bitchin' at me for not keepin' my ass safer, just didn't sound like too much fun for me.

"Oh, and for future reference, a general rule of thumb when you're a _leader_ – don't turn down volunteers, dick weed." Sliding into the driver's seat and slamming the door shut with an audible click that echoed through the mountains surrounding us, I sulked as Glenn quickly darted his way around the car and to the passenger side before sliding in himself. Clearing his throat awkwardly he sent me a small smile of encouragement, not being amused by much of anything I rolled my eyes and slid the key into the ignition. Revving the engine I whipped the car back around and sped down the dirt road, "Buckle the fuck up, doll, you gonna fly through that damn windshield if you don't."

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><p>"A'ight, time to start walkin'." I sighed as I pulled the Mustang over to the shoulder of the empty interstate. Cutting the engine I leaned back into my seat and peered at Glenn from the corner of my eye. He was going over his list again with a concentrated look on his face. He hadn't talked for the past ten minutes and I was starting to worry. I had thought he was happy that I was tagging along, but as I watched him, I wasn't so sure anymore. "You ready, doll?" I asked turning around slightly and groping at the back seat for my skillet, the rifle and bag of bullets.<p>

"Yeah," He said shaking his head and looking back at me. He had a goofy grin on his face now, "Just getting ready, ya know?" Needed a lot more than some mental pep talk for runnin' back into that damn city, but whatever fuckin' works for you I figured. He had some balls for bein' their errand boy. I couldn't say the same for me; cause fuck, I still didn't know why I had decided to go back in. Other than Shane being a fuckin' prick about it, which was still a damn good reason I say.

Climbing out of the Mustang and slamming the door shut, I looked over the top at Glenn who was just pulling himself out. He didn't have a weapon on him save for a metal bat that he carried loosely in his hand. I didn't know how helpful he was going to turn out if we ran into some trouble, he obviously had some sort of skills to have lasted as long as he had so far, but the more I thought about what was awaiting us in the city, the more I became weary of the idea of travelling with him. "You pretty good with that thing?" I asked with a tilt of my head.

Glancing down at his bat wielding hand and then back up at me he gave me a very unsettling shrug of his shoulders, "I got pretty good aim."

Shaking my head, I pushed away from the car and started walking, he moved quickly to keep up with me and my long strides, I tossed him a look over my shoulder, "That's fine. I just gotta run faster than you is all." He looked at me in shock, a horrified look passing over his face as he stopped in the middle of the road and stared after me. I'd say it was cute how he actually believed me, and say the whole thing had been a joke, but then I'd be lying, and well, I've lied enough before the dead started walking to cover me in this hell hold. "C'mon, slow ass. Ain't got all day."

Clearing his throat uncomfortably as he jogged to catch up with me, he made a nervous rub at his neck, "We'll get some gas for your Mustang when we're in there too."

I smiled at the thought, "Maybe I won't leave your ass behind then." He relaxed slightly, and whatever pep a man could have in this hell returned to his step. I shook my head to myself; he was somethin' that was for sure.

The city was just how we had left it. The air seemed staler; the rotting flesh of the dead more repugnant than I had remembered it after spending a day out in the woods. There was such a difference between the two that I didn't understand how I had survived six weeks in the city. Glenn led me through alleys and streets quietly, narrowly missing more than a few of those things in the process. He remained calmer than I did in those instances.

First place to hit on the list was a sports store; apparently the Dixon's wanted some more hunting supplies, and Andrea was pushing for Glenn to drag back fishing equipment and a goddamn canoe. When I had snatched the list from his hands and read that little jewel I had half a mind to turn back around and get the bitch to drag her own fuckin' canoe through this shit. It didn't take much to convince Glenn to leave the canoe we had actually found behind; cause I sure as fuck wasn't helping carry it back and between dodging those motherfuckers outside he'd be a dead man walking before he stepped outta the goddamn door. The only accomplishment we got from that rat infested place was the boxed arrows we had found in the back and a few boxes of ammo for the rifle I had slung around my torso.

The next stop was a pharmacy. From the outside it had looked easier than a cake walk, upon entering through the alley door that was suspiciously ajar, we realized that it was everything but easy. Inside there were three or four of those assholes loitering amongst tipped over and ransacked shelves. Taking a deep breath the two of us had stood there for Lord only knows how long. These ones looked more rotten and decayed than that cat lady had been and even more so than the few I had hit on my way out the day before. I didn't want to know why. I think Glenn had been pretty damn close to considering this a loss when I had snatched the piece of paper from his hands and dropped to my knees. Crawling as quietly and as carefully as I could, I made it past the blubbering idiots and behind the glass divider to where all the medicine was safely secured behind.

The list was pretty basic; just antibiotics and pain killers, apparently they were runnin low on the latter and as I was carefully reaching up to grab bottles of the stuff I knew to be painkillers, I couldn't help but think that the elder Dixon brother was a cause to this. Scooting down to another aisle of shelves I sighed as all the antibiotics were on the top shelf, rolling my shoulders I stood quickly and grabbed for the biggest bottles of the shit and shoved them into the messenger bag I had picked up at the sport store.

Then suddenly the groaning and moaning that I had been half listening to was a lot fuckin' closer than it had been. Spinning around to face the plate glass separating them from me, I looked just in time to watch the three of them start pounding on the glass. My heart stopped as I remembered the open door and I made a mad scramble to the other side of the room to slam and lock it. This was seriously not good, I was trapped like a fuckin' mouse and I was so pissed off at myself for it. I shouldn't have made a half-cocked decision and just came runnin' in here; I thought that I would be quick enough to grab everything or at least some of it before they noticed me, but I guess I had been wrong. And now I was going to die in the back of a pharmacy. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen, dammit. I was supposed to die happy and old with all my family around me, not here in the middle of hell in a shitty backroom pharmacy. I wasn't too impressed when I heard the alley door slam shut and the little Korean disappear to safety, goddammit if I made it out of this alive I was shootin' his yellow ass. Fuck, I may just let one of those bitches bite me so I could really karma his fuckin' ass up!

"Alright," I muttered to myself as I began pacing the length of the considerably small room, jumping slightly every time that the four of them pounded their palms against the window. I had enough ammo that I could shoot my way out, but I didn't know if my aim would be accurate or not. It was gonna be different shooting something that moved towards you rather than fled away. I knew I had a pretty good aim most of the time, but by the way my hands were beginning to shake I wasn't going to bet too much on it. Then there was the fact to consider that if I did start shooting my way out that I'd have more of these things coming to the noise; there was a whole damn city of 'em waiting out there for the slightest clue of a decent meal. I figured I'd be able to run for a while and find a car I could hijack or somewhere I could duck into until they went away – a much more desirable situation than the one I was trapped in, but there was that slightest chance that I wouldn't make it even a block and that chance scared the fuck outta me.

I didn't want to live in this world, I hadn't the moment the dead started walking, but Bo had kept a tight leash on me and I had figured out how to adapt. I still didn't want to be here, I didn't like the chance of dying and then becoming one of those assholes, but I still had that pull in my heart that was leading me to my brothers. I had this forming connection with Dale, Amy, and even Glenn – even if he did leave me here – that was beginning to keep me tethered here like Bo had. I had to keep fighting for something, that's what Bo had always told me. In the beginning I had been fighting along to get to my family, to get safe. But after a month passed, and nothing looked like it was changing too soon, and after Bo had come back to the apartment rambling about all the dead soldiers he had seen in front of the CDC, and all the ones he was seein' walking around the city, a part of me had given up on the chance that they were even alive. It wasn't a part I acknowledged often, but it was always there, always telling me that you should just throw in the towel now. I had almost done just that when Bo had told me, it was a thought that hadn't even truly registered, but I know that if Bo had made me follow through on that promise that I would never have left that building either. Now I wasn't too sure what I was fighting for, half the time it was to get to Fort Benning, the other half it was just to prove everyone wrong; like Shane and Merle, who just thought I was a little priss who couldn't take care of herself. Was gonna get myself and everyone else killed the first chance I got, that's what they thought about me. Shane had even said it, and maybe he had been right. Maybe today was the day I died of my own stupidity, of my own naivety that no one in this world deserved anymore. I had only made it six weeks, how sad was that? I hadn't even made it seventy-two hours without Bo, I'm sure he was just laughing wherever the fuck he was. I had gotten with a larger group – something he had frowned upon since the beginning = and now looked where I was. I was totally fucked. I had options out, sure, but they we iffy at best.

Things would've been different if I hadn't picked up Glenn. Shit, they would've gone differently if I had never come to Atlanta in the first place. I should've stayed in Dallas and worked in my parent's print shop instead, like I had planned before they got involved in the decision. I never should've went to culinary school, I never should've left Missouri in Dallas. I never should've done a lot of things. I may have been dead if I had stayed with Missouri, I may have been one of those things out there too. But, fuck, how much simpler of an existence could you get than those things out there? They didn't worry about anything, just stumbled around aimlessly looking for food. Nice. Simple. Easy. Everything my existence was not. "I can't decide who the most unlucky of us is." I announced to the growling creatures. They didn't even pause or consider the sound of my voice, just started clawing harder at the glass.

Sighing I removed the rifle from where it hung snugly around me, I had loaded it last night for that fact that I had been coming back into the city and I doubted that the skillet would do me too much good if I came across more than one. I still remembered exactly how my daddy had told me to hold it; _"You hold it tight like this," _He had told me, holding it tightly in his hands and securing the butt of it with his shoulder. _"This helps with the kick, Em, it won't be like the shotguns, but it will have one."_ He had always wanted me to be prepared, always telling me that things in the world only got worse with the decades, never truly better, and that when he had been growing up things had been bad enough, he didn't want to think about what me and my brothers were going to have to fight through. How right he had been.

I decided as I moved to the door keeping them from me, that if I was going to die today, than I was going to die with a fight. I wasn't going to take this lying down, no one would ever be able to say that about a Sinclair. My hand inches from the doorknob, I wondered if your soul stayed behind when you become one of those things, or if God granted you one thing, and that was it; peace. I hoped that was true, what was happening in the world would be all that more horrible if _you_ had to stay behind and watch what your body did to everyone around you; to watch what a monster you became. Making sure that the safety was off, I flung the door open, it hit the wall with a loud thud and their yellow eyes all snapped to me with hunger, their gangly legs strained with the effort they used to get to me quickly and before I could even tell my body to react, I was holding the gun just like daddy wanted and firing at their heads. The loud pop of the gun echoed as I fought with my fear and panic, underneath the noises of the rifle my heart thundered in my ears, and threatened to break through my ribcage and spill out to the filthy floor at my feet.

Six bullets later the four of them laid at my feet, holes in their foreheads deeming them officially dead and departed from this world. Hands shaking I lowered my gun slightly and took a deep breath, I spared another glance around for one or two I may have missed, finding nothing I quickly turned on my heel and made for the alley exit. I needed to be quick on my feet now, I didn't know how long it would take for them to reach me or how many there would be on my ass. Upon slamming the door open, I paused for only a second, Glenn stood petrified in the narrow alley with wide eyes as he saw me pour out of the building that I wanted to get as far as possible from.

"I didn't leave you!" He exclaimed trying to assure me that he wasn't the one at fault here, he had his arms raised up in surrender. Narrowing my eyes slightly on the quivering boy I sighed in annoyance. Even though just hours before I had told him all I needed to be was faster than him, I still felt betrayed by him rushing out of there. I hadn't known him all that long, and didn't place too much trust in the kid, but I had expected him to at least help my ass out of a tough spot; I would've done the same for him if he had been the one longed in there. As much of a stranger as he still was to me, I wouldn't have thought twice about it. Something about the situation made me think about Bo rambling off about 'never leaving a soldier behind'. He hadn't been all that nice to honest to God strangers, but know him for just an hour and he would've crossed half the country just to save your ass. I guess some of that had rubbed off on me, I couldn't tell you at that precise moment if I was happy about this or not.

"Let's keep moving." I hissed shoving the ruffled piece of paper and messenger back onto his person. He seemed surprised that I didn't want to go straight back, but I'd be damned if I got blamed again for a lack of supplies. "Don't fuckin' speak of this to anyone, understand?" Didn't particularly want to be I told you so either by Shane, I could just hear the fuckin' man's voice in my head sayin' just that, and as lovely as a lecture from the man I could barely stand sounded, I wasn't too keen about letting anyone but the two of us know that I may or may not have gotten stuck in the pharmacy. Even if I had shot my way out of there without so much as a bite, I didn't think anyone back at the camp would be too impressed. All they would see was a stupid little girl not thinking and almost getting killed. Glenn nodded meekly to my harsh voice before clearing his throat and motioning to the other end of the alley. Following quietly, I slung the rifle back around my waist and pulled the skillet back out of my bag. I didn't plan on drawing any more attention my way if I didn't have to.

"You alright?" He asked quietly as we made pause at the mouth of the alley.

"I ain't bitten if that's what you're gettin' at." I sighed.

Rubbing at his neck, he looked at me carefully, "No, I meant if you were feeling okay. I shouldn't have ran like I did. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, doll. Don't fuckin' worry about it. Now that list said somethin' about food didn't it?" He nodded, "Well there's a grocery store four blocks that way." I commented, jutting my thumb out to the left. "Think they'd have somethin' we want." I shrugged as he remained silent.

"Yeah, I know which one you're talking about. Let's go."

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><p>The grocery store was called Super Sal's. I never had been able to figure out if that was a too clever pun or not, either way when they had been open they had always had good prices on the junk food I liked to indulge in and even some of the healthy shit that I ate every once in a while. It was a large store, and had often gloated about employing more than four hundred people. It was certainly nothing like I had been used to in Dallas. Ray had been the one to suggest it to me, his oldest son had worked there as a bag boy during the weekends.<p>

The front of the grocery store had been empty, it looked like none of those things were around. The sliding doors in the front were ajar, a pushcart shoved between the two of them so it wouldn't close completely. I doubted any of those things would've hauled their asses over it so I suggested that we go in, agreeing, this time Glenn took the lead. The daylight we were getting from the morning sun was incredibly helpful, it came through all the sky lights the store had had, casting eerie shadows in some of the corners. We split up once we were inside and had figured that we didn't hear any moaning so it was safe. Apparently we wanted any non-perishables that were left on the shelves. I had never really eaten any of that kinda stuff, so I wasn't too sure what I was looking for, but I figured anything in cans would more than suffice.

I was in an aisle that had formerly had ramen noodles on one side and cans of beans, tomato sauce, olives, and corn on the other side when I heard the sound of a pistol cocking before the cold end of it was shoved into the back of my neck. "Drop the fuckin' beans." A woman demanded in an eerily calm and familiar face, releasing my grip on the can in question I let it slip from my hand and fall to the floor with a loud clatter. Swallowing I felt the gun shift slightly as she bent down and snatched the can from where it had landed by my feet. "You got anything else I may want, missy?"

"Nothin' but an attitude." I grinned silently to myself as I heard her scoff behind me; it hadn't been a good idea to taunt a woman with a gun before, so I figured it sure as fuck wasn't a good one now, but I really couldn't help myself. Besides, she woulda shot me a long time ago if that was the plan, I kept telling myself.

Glenn slid to a halt at the end of the aisle, sending a glance toward him I tried to get the point across for him not to fuck up. The woman holding me at gun point seemed to notice his sudden arrival too, "Jim! I told you to get the boy!" She seemed generally annoyed at whoever this Jim fellow was, so much that I felt the gun being removed from where it had been at my neck, to where it was then pointed at Glenn in an equally threatening manner. Taking the opportunity to turn around and face our captor, I choked.

"Jacqui, what the hell?"

"You know this lady!" Glenn seethed as a big black man popped up behind him and roughly shoved him further into the aisle, causing Glenn to stumble and nearly sprawl across the floor.

"Emmy, is that really you?" Jacqui turned to me and smiled slightly, moving her hand up and pushing the hair from my face. Jacqui was a friend, she was Ray's wife and had taken me under her wing the first time Ray brought me home for Sunday dinner. She was a nice woman most of the time, but on rare occasions turned into a rabid animal that would bite your head off given the chance. She seemed like she was in that kind of mood lately. She had chopped her hair off since the last time I had seen her, and looked like she had aged another decade in the past six weeks. "My god, baby doll, what're you doin' here?"

"Well I was gettin' some goddamn beans until you told me to drop 'em." I teased with a smile, motioning towards the can she still clutched in her hands. Looking down sheepishly she offered it back to me, shaking my head at her, "Where's Ray and the kids?" I asked excitedly, glancing over the top of shelves trying to spot her eldest head of blonde hair – Ray had been so pissed off when he had come home with that bleached mop, he had cussed about it for weeks.

Her face dropped and she closed her eyes like she was in pain, "Ray got bit on the subway on the way home. He thought he'd be fine, I-I ran out to get some food, and when I came back he and the boys weren't right anymore." She choked back a sob, and reached out for me. "I did what I had to, Emmy! It was so horrible!" She cried into my shoulder as I wrapped my arms around her in a hug, a few tears of my own escaping. I had assumed the past six weeks that Ray and the kids were fine, I figured he would've packed them up and taken them to the CDC like everyone else was.

"I am so sorry, Jacqui."

She sniffed, wiping at her eyes desperately as she pulled away. "Me too, baby doll. I ran into these two boys a few weeks after though, and we've been doin' okay in the city." She smiled slightly, motioning to the black man that had pushed Glenn and then to a somber looking white man that stood off to the side. "That's Theodore, but he likes to be called T-Dog, and that's Jim."

"Hi," I smiled giving a little wave. "Name's Emmy and the guy you just manhandled is Glenn." Glenn didn't seem amused by the sudden reunion we were having, his eyes kept going back to T-Dog suspiciously.

"Ah, sorry man, just doin' what Jacqui tol' me." T-Dog said to Glenn, putting his hand out to him and trying to diffuse the problem that had been created.

"Yeah, it's fine." Glenn finally sighed, taking T-Dog's hand and giving it a firm shake. "Is it just the three of you?"

"Yeah," Jacqui sighed. "Used to be six, but shit happens."

"You should come back with us to camp!" Glenn invited with a grin. Back to his golden retriever ways it seemed. I'm sure they would just love me all the more back there if I brought three more mouths to feed back. I'm sure they'd just love Glenn too, 'cause really, just me wasn't bad enough. It was probably a bad sign that this made me wanna do it just that much more.

"Yeah, Jacqui, you really should. It's safer than the city."

"Is that where you've been all this time?" She asked turning to me with a cock of her head.

"No, just a few days. But it's safe, and there's people." She brightened at the mention of people.

"What do you boys think?" Jacqui asked turning to T-Dog and Jim. She was hopeful that they'd agree. I was quite positive that they didn't want to be in the city any more than we did. They both finally nodded at her in silent agreement and she turned back to me with a grin, "So that's a yes then! I suppose you guys need food, so why don't we finish that then head out..?" She was more of a leader now than I remembered her, but a quick glance to the two strays she had picked up told me that it was only for them. The way the two of them acted made me think of the two boys she had lost; T-Dog was like the oldest, Bobby, and Jim seemed quiet and reserved like her youngest, Jesse, had been.

"Alright, sounds like a plan." I said smiling at her, then the five of us separated to finish the task that we had started. It was nice to see Jacqui; I had never thought I would again after everything that happened, so it was refreshing to see a familiar face. It pained me to know that Ray was gone and had taken his two boys with him, but it sounded like she had taken care of business and that not even their bodies were stuck roaming around, which was comforting. It was sad to know that Ray had been perfectly fine and healthy when I had left him only to get bitten on his bid to get home to his family; thought it wasn't surprising. It was about the luck that everyone had anymore. If anything else I had happened I would've been more surprised.

We had Jacqui though, and I was happy that she was going to be coming back with us. It'd be so very nice to have her close again, she was a comforting presence that only a mother could be. T-Dog and Jim seemed okay too, I knew this especially to be true because Jacqui had been with them for a while. She had a good judge of character and didn't take shit, she had gotten out of the projects in Detroit when she was eighteen because of that. She was more straight laced than my momma had been, which considering after my granddaddy had retired as a chef he became a preacher, was saying a lot. Smiling to myself, I figured that the two of them would've gotten along famously if they had ever met.


	5. Four

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello dolls, here is another chapter; some Emmy/Daryl bonding time in this one. We're getting pretty close to the official start of season one too guys! I hope you enjoy it! I've decided too that since classes have started back up, that instead of two - three updates a week, it's just gonna be one, and it's gonna be on either Thursday or Friday depending on when I get the next chapter done. Once summer comes I'll probably go back up to two a week though, so woo. :)

Now, mucho gratzi to Dalonega Noquisi and TripleLLL for your oh too lovely reviews, each and every one made my day exceptionally brighter! xD Thankies to Eklipt for adding this to your favs. :) Thanks to chaseHarley and TripleLLL for adding this to your guys alerts too! :) And to every other silent reader, thank you guys for reading!

Also, I'd love you guys opinion on something - between the end of season one and the beginning of season two I was planning on doing a chapter where we could see where all of Emmy's brothers were, would you guys be interested in that?

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>A company <em>  
><em>Always on the run <em>  
><em>A destiny <em>  
><em>Its the rising sun <em>  
><em>I was born <em>  
><em>A shotgun in my hands <em>  
><em>Behind the gun <em>  
><em>I'll make my final stand <em>

_And that's why they call me _  
><em>Bad Company <em>  
><em>I can't deny <em>  
><em>Bad Bad Company till the day I die <em>  
><em>Until the day I die <em>  
><em>Until the day I die <em>

_Rebel souls _  
><em>Deserters we've been called <em>  
><em>Chose a gun <em>  
><em>And threw away the sun <em>  
><em>Now these towns they all know our names <em>  
><em>The death punch sound is our claim to fame <em>

_And that's why they call me _  
><em>Bad Company <em>  
><em>I can't deny <em>  
><em>Bad Bad Company till the day I die <em>  
><em>Until the day I die <em>  
><em>Until the day I die<em>  
><em>Until the day i die <em>

_Eye for an eye _  
><em>And a tooth for a tooth <em>  
><em>Blood for blood <em>  
><em>We've all gotta die <em>  
><em>We've all gotta die<em>

_Bad Company by Five Finger Death Punch_

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><p><strong>Four<strong>

On the ride back to camp that night Jacqui gave us the abridged versions of Jim and T-Dog's stories. It was funny to watch the small woman talk for the burly man and lanky quiet one. Apparently T-Dog had been a car salesman before, which made me laugh so hard I had nearly run clear off the road. He didn't have a family save for a fiancé that had left him a month or two prior to the outbreak. He had killed a few of them too in the last six weeks; the most notable was his fiancé who he ran over with his truck, apparently he hit her more than once. He had been the one to find Jacqui, they had lived in the same apartment building.

Jim had worked at the car dealership T-Dog had as a mechanic, he had a wife and two kids but they had been bitten within the first month. He had narrowly escaped with his life and felt like a coward because of it. T-Dog said that Jim used to be more of a talker before everything happened but when they had found him he had turned quiet like he was, they only knew what happened because Jacqui had coaxed it outta him with some tequila. It didn't even bother him that Jacqui and T-Dog were talking like he wasn't even there. He just stared out of the back window in a daze. They had found Jim stumbling down the street after his family had been killed; apparently his wife and two daughters still walked the streets of Atlanta.

Glenn had even indulged a little about himself during the ride. He had been going to college in Atlanta, delivering Pizza's to pay off what gambling debt he had acquired since he turned eighteen; even acquiring a few questionable skills while trying to pay off his debt – like hotwiring a car. Apparently the world going to shit was the best damn thing that happened to him, he had been this close to crawling back to his estranged parents for help. It made since why he was constantly running into the city now, he couldn't gamble his money away, so his life was the next best thing. He had come across Shane and Lori when he had been trying to get out of the city, and well the rest was history he had said. It was interesting to know that he, along with the Dixon's, Shane, Lori, Carl, Carol, Sophia, and Ed were among the first survivors that were now part of the camp. I wondered briefly when Dale had dragged his Winnebago and the two sisters into the mess.

"Are they gonna be okay with us comin' in?" Jacqui asked quietly from the back seat, squished between T-Dog and Jim. I glanced briefly at Glenn who gave a noncommittal shrug, he needed to work on his skills of encouragement I decided as I watched Jacqui deflate slightly behind me. She had never liked being a burden, hated charity and any help she thought she didn't need. It was a wonder I had gotten her into the damn car quite frankly.

"They'll love you, Jac. They'd be stupid not to want you guys." I grinned, she laughed hollowly and relaxed slight as we came across the dusty road I was beginning to know all too well. After the last two trips up and down it I had figured out where the holes and bumps were, and swerved rather erratically around to avoid them. T-Dog seemed amused by the sudden movement as did Glenn, Jacqui merely narrowed her eyes on me like she had when I had offered to take her two boys out for a drive sometime. They had been fascinated with the older Mustang, something they inherited from Ray who had been rebuilding a Camaro of his own in some garage somewhere In the city. Jim now seemed attentive as he realized we were no longer in the city.

"Where are we goin'?" Jim asked, voice cracking slightly at the end from disuse.

"Quarry. We have a camp there." Glenn explained nicely to him, twisting slightly in his seat to face the backseat. "You'll seriously like it, it's really nice out here." If you didn't count Shane and Andrea, well then yeah it was downright peachy. I wanted to add the Dixon's to that piece, but considering they had been feedin' the assholes for the last month and a half, I couldn't blame them too much if I wanted to be reasonable here. And considering how much of a lesser evil they were to me while in comparison to Shane and Andrea, well I fuckin' loved the Dixon boys if anyone asked. I planned on giving Merle a wide berth though, I didn't care too much for tricked out Rednecks. Daryl was just gonna be too much fun to poke at once I figured out what got to him. Sad thing was that I'm sure that feeling was mutual, I couldn't decide if I was excited by this prospect or not. I had a feeling Bo would've advised about not being excited about it.

"Do you like it here, Emmy?" Jacqui asked softly as I pulled the car into the spot that I had parked it in the first time. It looked like everyone was here tonight, from the light of the quickly disappearing sunset I could make out the Dixon's and Shane on opposite sides of the dire as Carol and Lori cooked up whatever it was that Daryl had caught during the day. With all the windows rolled down in the Mustang, I could smell whatever it was and I was definitely opting out of another meal it looked like tonight – it was squirrel, as fun as they were to skin, they weren't that fun to eat. The idea of somethin' cute and fluffy always got me if I had to eat it.

"Yeah, Jac, it's pretty nice." I finally decided, smiling back at her as Glenn unbuckled himself from the seat and flung open the door, pulling the seat down so Jim and T-Dog could get out he left the door open and rounded on the back of the car, waiting impatiently at the trunk I pressed the release button for him and it popped open easily. As Jim crawled out of the car, I opened my own door and pushed the seat down for Jacqui. By the time she was out of the backseat Shane had meandered his way over to us with a look of surprise at the three new arrivals.

"What is this?" He asked looking between the five of us. I couldn't tell if he was annoyed by more people, or surprised that Glenn kept bringing back more. I thought it was rather amusing really, but now that I had Jacqui nearby I wasn't too sure if I wanted to tease the dragon or not. She'd been worse than my momma when it came to reprimanding me for my social graces.

"My name is Jacqui," She grinned taking a step forward. She had always been better with dealing with people than Ray had been. "That's T-Dog and Jim. I hope you don't mind us showin' up like this." Shane seemed taken aback by the kindness of her, it was certainly a different introduction then mine had been. Perhaps that had been my first mistake, and maybe my momma had always been right about first impressions.

"Nice to meet ya, miss. Name's Shane." He said tipping the King's County PD baseball hat that sat on his head. Seemed like a different man than the one I had left fuming this morning, it was startling to say the least. "See you're still alive." He said with distaste, directing his dark gaze to myself. I raised an eyebrow at him, nope, same man.

"Yeah, so sorry to disappoint your sorry ass." I smiled politely, tipping my head to the side as he looked offended. Had we never met? Was the shouting match I had had with him just merely an illusion of my imagination? I highly doubted it, so I figured that man in front of me was seriously bonkers. More so than I had originally assumed. "You high or somethin'?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Jacqui slapped me on my shoulder, thinking I was the first to disrespect the former policeman in front of me.

"Emmy, you shouldn't talk to the man like that!" She reprimanded sternly, her eyes locked directly on me. It took all my will power not to start screaming like a four year old in a temper tantrum when Shane smirked at me.

"My apologies, Deputy Do-Nothin'." I snarked again rolling my eyes at Jacqui, hiking my duffel back further up my shoulder I turned swiftly to Glenn and put my hand out expectantly, grinning like a fool he handed me the shoulder bag that housed a greyish blue tent made for three or four; I had swiped it off the back shelf of that sporting goods store I had made a point to go back to after we had picked the three musketeers up. I figured even if I didn't stay too long that it may prove to be useful, figured I'd be housin' Jacqui and her little friends too now since I had dragged 'em back to the camp. I couldn't decide if close quarters with the three of them was something to be happy about or not.

Turning to the two bumbling men who were standing next to each other glancing quickly around the little group of civilization that had banded together with wide eyes and keen interest, "Which of you know how to put a tent up? If it's neither then I see two men who are sleepin' in the dirt." I stated factually with a smirk as T-Dog sputtered around with a dumb look on his face, Jim didn't look like he had a care in the world as he rounded the Mustang and grabbed the bag from my hand. Seemed like he was ready to get down to business as he walked further into the camp and found a place he liked to start working on putting it together. T-Dog followed after him quickly in a small effort to help the smaller man out, obviously taking me for my word on the matter, which was amusing to say the least. I'd no easier be able to hold that over their heads than Carl would be able to.

That had obviously worked a lot better than I had planned, I had known how to put one together fairly efficiently for the most part after Zane became an Cub Scout, at that point he thought it was his God given right to teach the four of us how to put one together. Daddy had found it amusing – he had after all be the one to teach Zane and the rest of us how – I had found it annoying, as had Missouri, figured that came from being the baby in a set of triplets though.

"There goes those wiles of yours again, Em." Jacqui laughed fondly, I think the both of us immediately thought of Ray and the 'convincing womanly wiles' he thought I possessed since the first day we had met – I had convinced him to help me move all my shit belongings up ten flights of stairs after only knowing him for six hours. Admittedly that had been one of my finer moments. All I had on my side was a mouth of a sailor and an attitude that made you think I wasn't scared of shit. Too bad that the last part was my only downfall.

"Oh yeah, Jac, I'll have these bastards wrapped around my finger in no time, you just wait." I laughed winking at her. She shook her head at me in amusement as Carl and Sophia suddenly caught her attention, her eyes twinkled at the sight of them. She had always been great with kids; especially her own. A lump formed in my throat at the thought, it still hurt to know that Ray and the boys were gone for good. They had been my second family after getting to Atlanta, my wiles had secured that, Ray had always joked at the dinner table. It wasn't too long before Jacqui made her way across the camp to where the two children sat beside their mothers; she put her hand out to them, no doubt reintroducing herself to the speculative mothers. Smiling fondly at her I shook my head and looked away, glancing back to Jim and T-Dog I snickered. Jim was having more difficulty than not with T-Dog's big clumsy hands.

"Ya know," Glenn started from my side, taking a deep breath as he tried to haul the bag further up his shoulder, causing it to hit the side of the car slightly. With a raised eyebrow at him and whatever abuse he was trying to give the Mustang. He took another deep breath at the look he was getting from me and swiftly made to continue his thought, "Today was pretty much a success, don't ya think?"

Rolling my eyes at him with a small smile, "How do you figure that, doll?" I personally found that the day really hadn't gone all that well, I had nearly died today in a pharmacy, did he forget this small fact? He probably did, I figured, I had told him to forget it ever happened. He was all too good at that for my liking quite frankly. Though finding Jacqui and her friends had been nice; removing three more lost souls from the city of hell. Yeah, I kinda liked that part. Coming back to bitchy Shane had sorta ruined that moment for me though. I figured that's just the relationship I was goin' to have with the man though, we were either too similar or too different for it to work any other way. Each second we breathed the same air I seemed to loathe the man more, and the feeling was reciprocated.

"You're still alive for one, and we brought back three more people. That's basically saving lives ya know." He grinned. Not too shabby then, if you wanted to get technical I guess.

"Yeah, you may be right. You're pretty good at gettin' in and outta that city too." He had been rather masterful at that part, I figured he and Bo might've gotten along well considering that small fact. Though Bo woulda called him some nasty ass things in the process, kid seemed soft when it came to shit like that, I decided, even if he didn't show it on the outside.

"Thanks." He smiled, looking down with a blossoming blush on his cheeks. "I'm gonna go give this to Dale." He added a moment later, head still down as he shuffled away from me and over to the Winnebago. Shaking my head at him I shoved my hands into my pockets, he was adorable too. The kinda boy momma had always wanted me to bring back home to her. I had been a disappointment in that aspect for her, and I felt sorta bad that she had left us before she could see me fall in love, that's all she had ever wanted for all five of us. And what had we all done? No interests in love or marriage at all, aside from the random guy in leather I'd drag home or the tattooed up girl my brothers would. I don't know really if that was intentional on our parts or not, but I know momma and daddy hadn't been all that amused. I smiled quietly to myself as I remembered the one I had brought home when I was eighteen and on break, he had perpetually smelt like peaches – only reason I had liked him really; my daddy had thought he was a pansy.

"Emmy..?" T-Dog shouted from across the camp uncertainly, turning my attention to him I laughed. The tent had collapsed on Jim somehow between the last time I had looked – Jim had been making quite a bit of progress, it had nearly been finished and at the rate he had been going I figured he'd be done before the sun completely set. Now however it looked like a complete disaster. I couldn't decide if I regretted telling the two of them to do it or not, at the rate they had suddenly taken I figured I'd be sleeping out in the open again. This would amount to another night of no sleep. I wasn't looking forward to it.

"Yeah, I'm comin' for ya." I sighed shaking my head at them as I walked across the camp. This was just going to be tons of fun, I could just feel it. If all else failed, the three of us would be sleeping out in the wild. I could sleep easier maybe with that. T-Dog looked like he'd scare somethin' off in the middle of the night just by snoring, so there was that as a defense I figured.

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><p>Sighing I reopened my eyes. I figured it was two or three in the morning, we had disbanded from around the fire about six hours ago if my interpretation was head on. At least I was in a tent, I kept telling myself. After some difficulty I had finally told T-Dog to go sit down while Jim and I set it up, as helpful as he tried to be he was sorta clumsy. We had gotten the tent put up by a little after Lori had roasted some squirrels; I opted for the can of corn that Dale had thrown at my head. It had tasted sorta funny, and I don't really think it was corn at all. The label had been missing and it had a funny texture, though I half figured it was probably hominy.<p>

Jim slept on the fair side of the tent, T-Dog on the other side, and Jacqui right beside me in the middle. I figured this was supposed to be some sort of protection routine, but I wasn't too amused with any of them. T-Dog sounded like a fuckin' bear, Jim like a sputtering car and Jacqui like a fuckin' fog horn. My tent mates were all snorers in the largest sense of the word. They'd stop though, for only a minute or two and I'd finally start falling asleep before being jerked back into consciousness by their horrendous noise. I had had it about up to _here_, I didn't want to be rude and wake them up, but something was going to have to give, and quickly.

Sitting up abruptly I let out a huff of air and popped my fingers in annoyance, glancing over all of them I scowled before shifting myself to my knees and crawling to the flap. Unzipping it as quietly as I could muster I flung myself out as I grabbed my cowboy boots. Sitting inside of the tent still I shoved my sock clad feet into the mouth of the boots until they settled around the top of my calves before standing and stretching with a quiet groan – floor of the tent, so not comfy.

Giving a sweep of the camp it looked like no one was up aside from whoever was sitting on top of the Winnebago on watch. I figured it might be Dale and decided on pestering the old man at this odd hour, with nothing else to do I figured it was the best idea.

"Hey, ol' man." I greeted pulling myself up the side with a lazy grin on my face. With a grunt he turned to face me, with a scowl on his face, it was most definitely _not _Dale. I don't think Dale even knew how to scowl for that matter.

"Why you callin' me ol', priss?" I huffed, eyes narrowing on the youngest Dixon. He didn't look that threatening the dark of night, but his light blue eyes were reflecting in the moon light in this menacing way that made me second think climbing out of the tent.

"'Cause you look pretty fuckin' ol'." I said with a shrug of my shoulders, as much as a threat he could've been, I was going to mass murder three people in their sleep if I went back down to my tent. Somehow Daryl seemed to be the lesser demon in this situation. I'm sure that was the first and last time a Dixon would be thought of as such.

"I don' look fuckin' ol'." He grunted turning away from me in annoyance. Rolling my eyes I plopped down in the lawn chair beside him and crossed my arms like a child and proceeded to pout. I don't know why, but there was some part of me that felt comfortable just sitting up there with him. I didn't know if this was me missing Bo or somethin' else, but either way I could tell by the slight twitch in his jaw that I was starting to bug him. Damn, I wish I had some fuckin' gum to pop. "What do ya fuckin' want?" He sighed, not even bothering turning to look at me. I could spy the dirty look on his face from my peripheral.

"Oh, ya know – the usual." I shrugged with a lazy hand flourish, he flinched at the movement. My eye brows rose suspiciously at him as I continued to watch him from the corner of my eye. The more I watched him, the more he seemed familiar. Though, that may have just been the bitchy Redneck in him that I found all too familiar.

"Bullshit. I can hear the fuckin' niggers from here." He then proceeded to send me a dirty look as if it was my entire fault they were snoring. I was pointedly ignoring the fact that I was the one that had dragged them back to the camp, their snores and all. I swear to fuckin' God that people needed to start wearin' signs with that kinda info on 'em. It'd save us all a helluva lotta trouble. "You gotta thing for pickin' up strays it looks like." He drawled at me. Somehow I didn't think that was a compliment, though it was rather true. I had been pickin' up strays of one kind or another since I was five. The first had been a raccoon, which had admittedly not turned out the way my five year old self had planned – he tore up my daddy's entire office and half of the living room full of momma's precious silver before Zane finally caught the damn thing and threw it outside. Daddy had been so pissed at me that night. You'd thought that it would've turned me off to pickin' up anymore, it didn't. I had a few scars to prove that.

"You tellin' me that ain't a good quality?" I asked with a narrow smirk as I leaned further back into the uncomfortable plastic. I couldn't understand how Dale sat up here all the time in these crappy chairs; it was literally a pain in the ass.

He nodded thoughtfully, glancing at me for only a second. "Didn't your daddy tell ya that's the way pretty lil' girls get killed?" Not even once, I thought idly to myself, but Bo had. There was no longer any room for compassion in this world apparently, even if it was a small amount of giving them a ride to safety. I'm sure Bo was rollin' on the floor just at me pickin' up Glenn. Then I had gone and added three more people to the tally, three people I know Bo woulda left on the streets without a second glance. Probably woulda shot 'em too. I had a feeling Daryl wouldn't be too shy in that decision either.

"Maybe," I said dispassionately. "Didn't yours tell you goodwill to men and all that bullshit?" He laughed at me, actually laughed, it wasn't a joyful sound, more bitter and full of resentment than anything; but the only thing that registered in my fuzzy mind was that I made Daryl Dixon _laugh_. Even if it was a sarcastic one.

"Didn't teach me one goddamn thing. I taught myself." He muttered his Southern twang heavy on the ears as he stared straight ahead. Sounded more and more like Bo the longer I tolerated him. Bo's big brother had been the one to teach him how to live, though by the way he spoke of him it wasn't necessarily a very nice upbringing. His brother had been the cause of his hard outer shell, thinking he wasn't good for anythin' but killin' people and drinkin'. Peeking at him, I decided that maybe Bo and Daryl would've been kindred spirits of the worst kind.

"You teach yourself how to use that bow too?" I asked curiously, motioning to the piece of art sitting propped up by his leg beside him. He didn't look like he cared for me askin' too much, but I figured I deserved at least some backstory on that thing considering I had brought back a box or two of arrows when Glenn had been this close to just ignoring it all together. He didn't need to know that part quite frankly, but it'd be nice if he shared with the class.

"Yeah," He shrugged rubbing at his head as I shifted excitedly beside him. My daddy had been more of a bow man than a gun one, but he had never got teachin' any of us how to wield one before we all went off doin' our separate things. It was something I regretted now; a bow was silent and quick. Something that you needed in this new hell. "Whaddya know how to shoot?" He asked with a tilt of his head in my direction as he spied the excitement written clearly on my face.

"Guns. My daddy never got 'round to teachin' me and my brothers how to shoot a bow."

"You got brothers?" I was about to make a smart ass remark when I suddenly remembered his absence in the camp my first night here. The thought seemed to amuse me; he was just as clueless about me as I was about him.

"Yeah," I drawled with a lazy grin. "Four of 'em."

He snorted at me in disbelief, "Then why your prissy ass out here?"

"I'mma pretend that wasn't rude. I just got a little sidetracked is all."

"Shoulda figured, you a woman."

Slapping him on the shoulder I laughed the disrespect off like it was dust on my shoes, "Why thank ya for noticin' kind sir." He rolled his eyes at me and huffed, returning to scowling at the distant skyline of Atlanta. Rolling my own eyes I simmered down slightly and resumed my pouting, did he have no manners at all? Or was he just tryin' really hard to be ornery?

"You still wanna learn?"

Frowning at the sudden disruption of the silence I had actually fallen into quite nicely unlike a lot of times, I tilted my head curiously at him. "Learn what?" Daryl proceeded to huff at me like it was the stupidest damn question he had ever been asked, but it was a good one. I didn't know what the fuck the man was talkin' about. What the hell could his sorry ass teach be? Besides bein' a grad A prick without tryin' too hard.

"To shoot a bow. Ain't you been listenin' to me?" I continued frowning at him. Was he bein' serious or was this just another round of 'let's see how big of a douche I can be with barely tryin''? He seemed serious enough, but I bet you sterling silver pinky ring on my left hand that he wasn't bein' all too serious, bet he was just yankin' my chain.

"You serious?" I finally asked.

"Do I look fuckin' serious."

Glancing around, I found myself looking for a camera or somethin', this has to be some sorta joke, I decided firmly to myself. Something was obviously wrong here and I was just completely lost. "..No?" He seemed more annoyed now as I shifted uneasily in the plastic hair, one hand going up and shoving the dark tresses from my face I tried to rationalize what may or may not have been happening, which was hard considering I still didn't get what he was trying to accomplish here.

"I am." He growled, throwing a hand up in exasperation with me. Well, I hadn't seen that coming. I had assumed that he either hated me or disliked me with a passion, either one was a mark against me in his book either way. So to have him offering to teach me how to use a bow, was different and I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to take him up on the offer or not. Dale had already told me to give them a wide berth, and that had been the plan until I crawled up her. Daryl was interesting to say the least, and I was more than positive that he was a talented hunter – seemed to be feeding these assholes for a while to qualify as such. His brother even seemed like he had some sort of skills under his belt if he sobered up for longer than a second. I knew though that doing anything with the Dixon's – like a tug in my chest was telling me to, or at least with Daryl, I was weary at best of Merle who just seemed to have gotten worse when I had last seen him around the fire – would just create a larger riff between me and the rest of the camp. It being early in my stay with them meant I needed to watch my footing with them.

Eyeing him quietly I shifted in my chair and turned to face him, he was remaining quiet in the pregnant silence as he waited for my response and as I shifted my gaze between him and what I assumed to be an extension of him – his bow – I decided that I didn't want to learn how to handle that piece of art. Guns were just fine, and skillets worked too. Fuck, I'd yank the metal bat from Glenn's hands if I had to. I did, however, want to go hunting. I hadn't been out hunting since before I left for college, which was literally ages ago, and I figured I could hold my own out there. It would beat doing laundry, that was for sure. "Take me hunting with you instead." It came out more as a demand than I had meant it to, and his narrowed gaze was quickly refocused on me the moment I had uttered a word to the night. It remained hard and unwavering as he stared me down, I didn't for a second back down from the tense feelings filling the air. I figured this might've been some kind of test – I had failed it more than enough times while dealing with Bo to spot it – and I refused to lose it to some Redneck who probably thought I couldn't hunt 'cause I was a woman, and that's just how we were. Bull-fuckin-shit.

"You hunt?"

"I fuckin' skinned the damn squirrels didn't I? That's somethin' you get taught _after_ the huntin'." He seemed to acknowledge this fact and nodded his head in agreement with it, breaking his gaze away from mine he turned it to the woods that surrounded us. "I can hold my own."

"A'ight. If you think you can handle it, priss." He said with a lazy smirk as he reached down into his pockets and pulled out a pack of smokes and a lighter. My lips pursed, I hadn't had a smoke for a month. My supply ran out two weeks into this mess and Bo refused to bring me back any - though he had made sure to bring_ plenty_ for himself, the fuckin' bastard - it'd be the worst fuckin' month of my life quite frankly and just the idea of nicotine got me all tingly. I wanted to ask for one, I really, really fuckin' did. But a piece of common sense told me not to, I was already weaned off of the death sticks so why the fuck did I wanna go back down that road when I didn't even know if I'd be able to find any more later. Swallowing back the burning in my throat I looked to the shadow filled woods that I would be going into at some point, it was exciting that he was actually going to humor me or whatever it was that he was doing. Bo hadn't even given me that long of a leash.

"I ain't gonna regret this, am I?" Daryl asked after he had taken a long drag off of his smoke, he was squinting at me in the pale light of the moon in a speculative way, as if he was regretting the decision he had just barely made.

Laughing, I threw my head back, "Nah, I ain't gonna shoot you in the ass or anythin' out there." He 'hmmed' at me as he took another drag, he looked calmer now that he was getting his dose of nicotine and I made a reminder for myself to pick up a box of smokes for the hunter the next time I ran into Atlanta with Glenn. It looked like it eased the inner beast, and fuck, I had enough dragons breathin' down my neck without the added Dixon, and he looked like the type of man you wanted on your side when shit hits the fan.

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><p>By the time morning officially hit the camp I was laid out on the hood and windshield of my car, with my legs pulled up off the ground and my arms behind my head. I was trying to get some sort of sleep after Daryl had sent me off not too long before Morales went up to take his shift. I didn't know if Daryl was going to hold up his end of the deal or not when it came to taking me huntin', but I figured the worse that could happen was that he actually would. He didn't seem like the type of man that would, but I was open to any surprised. Fuck, he had surprised me by having a semi-civil conversation with me at three in the morning, so who knew what else the man was capable of.<p>

I had an old pair of aviators that I had found in the glove box over my eyes as I tried to block the mounting noise of the people around me; they were still excited over the three new arrivals I imagine, 'cause I couldn't think of any other good reason for them to be running around with such a pep to their step. I knew Jacqui would be bitchin' at me any time now for leaving the tent without tellin' her. She was gonna be back to the annoying thorn in my side before I could get twenty minutes of sleep in, I just knew it. She had been bad enough when life had been normal and the circumstances of day-to-day living was easy. I didn't want to know what she was going to be like now; worse than my momma I was sure, now that she didn't have her boys to mother around like a hen. _God_, I prayed, just let me have thirty minutes. That's all, just thirty.

"You look tired." The all-knowing voice of Dale commented from beside me. I cursed every living thing as I peeked an eye open behind the shades and peered up at him, I knew he knew I was still away by the way my right leg was bouncing up and down and the way my jaw had tensed when he had spoken. I also knew that it didn't look like he was going to be leaving my alone any time soon. Swallowing, I tried to control the boiling temper beneath the surface and nodded my head slightly in acknowledgement to the fact he had stated. I was tired. So fuckin' tired that I was gettin' close to the point where I could barely think straight. This wasn't necessarily the sort of environment things like that flourished in.

"You need tea. C'mon." He commanded tapping the top of my knee lightly as he walked away and off towards his Winnebago. Sighing I sat up and peered after him, stretching my arms above my head they made a comfortable popping noise before I slid off of the hood and landed softly on my feet. Pushing a hand through my tangled hair I treaded after the old man, I didn't know why I was going so easily, but somewhere between the 'you' and the 'c'mon' I had heard tea, and well fuck, you never turn down a cup of tea.

"What kind do you want, Emmy?" Dale asked kindly, glancing at me from the cupboard he stood in front of that was above the stove as I entered the Winnebago. It smelt like old soap and coffee, something that considering current circumstances meant that it was burned into the surfaces of the Winnebago from however long Dale had traveled in the minuscule thing. I wasn't sure how that thought settled with me, it seemed like a smell that I was going to get annoyed of quickly.

Lazily I hung onto the doorframe, "You got any Chai or Green Tea?" He immediately began fishing through the contents of the cupboard, pulling a few boxes out and putting them on the small stove below it before continuing on his search. I was about this close to falling asleep standing there when he yanked a green box out with a triumphant smile. Squinting I saw the descript words of _Bigelo Green Tea with peach_. I nearly died and thought I was in heaven at the sight of green tea _and_ peaches. "If I haven't told you already – I love you."

He laughed loudly as he pulled down a mug from the same cupboard, before filling the tea kettle that sat on the back of the stove. I raised my eyebrow at him as he filled it with a bottle of water before putting it back on the stove, and then lighting the stove. "Have a little gas left for the stove." He said with a shrug as I stared at him with wide eyes. Well, that was some kind of impressive, I decided. "Did you not get any sleep last night?" Dale asked with concern as he stepped away from the stove and slumped into the seat behind the little table that was right across from it.

"No," I replied with a yawn, not even bothering to move from my semi-slumped position at the door. I swear, if someone could hand me a pillow I could fuckin' sleep easy in this position. It wasn't too loud right now, it seemed like I had somehow missed a large portion of the group going down to the lake. I was semi happy that I didn't have to do any sort of laundry again, but wondered why exactly I hadn't been called into duty. It was mildly suspicious, but was something that was beginning hard for me to focus on as I tried to retune my ears to Dale's speculative words.

"..heard you and Daryl talking."

"Huh?" I asked blinking my eyes quickly at him. He seemed put off that I hadn't been paying attention to much that he said, and he was frowning intensely across the small space at me. I felt bad for tuning him out, really I did. It hadn't been intentional. But I had a feeling that this wasn't necessarily a conversation I wanted to have anyways.

"Last night, I heard you and Daryl talking up top." He repeated with a stern look as he unhooked the watch from around his wrist and holding it delicately between his hands. It looked like he was getting to the task of winding the ol' relic. I found it odd for a man to be winding a watch when time was pretty much nonexistent anymore. There was morning and night, life and death. Making it to the next day and not. Things were too simple for an even simpler creation of man.

I don't know why I had, but I bristled at the mention of Daryl. I still wasn't too fond of him, but he seemed like the kind of person who did better one-on-one rather than in groups. I thought that early this morning had been a testament to that, so much that I hadn't even bothered bringing up this oddity to any of the veteran members of the group. It was none of their business, just like Shane and Lori running off to act like rabbits wasn't any of mine. It was a common courtesy really, one that I shouldn't have been surprised that Dale was exploiting. I had noticed it in the beginning that he was the unofficial caretaker of all that was notable. I don't know why I had let myself think for even a second that that wouldn't also apply to me. It was irritating to say the least though, and I'm sure my consistent lack of sleep had something to do with it.

"What's your point?" I asked with a lazy raise of an eyebrow. I couldn't even convince my face to scowl or any of the like, so the eyebrow was the only reaction he was graced with. He seemed surprised by my lack of reaction, which in turn surprised me. Did they all bloody think I was in a goddamn conspiracy act here? Shane had acted like I had dropped in purposely to tear them apart the moment I had shown up. Andrea thought I was another spoiled brat that had inferiority problems – which may have been more spot on that I would've liked, but that was beside the point, because I was also pretty sure she considered me another inbred Redneck by the way she eyeballed me. Lori saw me as a bad influence to her son, and I'm pretty sure Carol would back her up on that just 'cause it was easier. Though the mother's seemed to especially like me when they wanted their children amused, this was just a big goddamn hypocrite party if you asked me. Fuck, if you thought about it Daryl was the only one that didn't think I had an ulterior motive lurking beneath the surface. Took it as one big fuckin' compliment that he was even humoring me last night.

"I just want you to be careful. The Dixon's are a… Troubled bunch." I blinked at him. That's all anyone had ever been able to tell be. And yeah, it was pretty fuckin' obvious that they were but c'mon, it's not like the rest of us were peaches and roses either. "Just watch 'em, especially Merle." It was like a rerun of advice and it was sorta pissing me off. I'm sure the exact same had been said about Bo. Fuck, I'm sure the exact same had been said about me and my brothers on more than one occasion. Hell, we hadn't been the most popular bunch when we had been livin' in Savannah. My brother's tendencies to be a little trigger happy when it came the speed limit, and me doin' anything and everything to top whatever them did had made us quite the undesired.

"I'mma big girl, I can handle a few Georgian boys." Dale seemed unconvinced by me as he continued winding his watch with determination, he eyes locked firmly on my own. At this point I was actually a little more awake from the annoyance he was putting on me. I didn't like being told what to do. When advice was good, it was good. But when it had this undertone of '_I'm older than you, so I know better, now do it_', it pretty much pissed me off. This was one of those instances.

"I'm sure you can, Emmy. I'm just pointing out what I've noticed living with them for a while." Dale stated softly, sensing my discomfort and annoyance he finally broke the tense eye contact he had been keeping and looking down at his watch purposely. "Just be careful – you're too good of a girl to get mixed in with them." But were things really that simple anymore? Would he really be thinking that if he had seen me two months ago? I had never been '_too good of a girl'_, sure I had been a good one; went to church with my momma every Sunday and Wednesday just like she wanted me to, didn't let me parents know I was drinkin' and smokin' at sixteen and I even said grace every once in a while at dinner. But what did any of that mean now? Lines were very clearly being blurred here, society was basically gone, and the dead were walkin' around chewin' on people for fucks sake! How could it be as simple as '_you good, them bad'_? If everyone wanted to pretend it was, well that was just dandy, but here in the real world – there were more shades of gray then there was black and white.

"Well, thanks." I finally decided, smiling slightly at him to ease the tense older man. At this point all I wanted from him was the tea, and then I was duckin' outta the Winnebago like it was tryin' to eat me.

The kettle chose that precise moment to whistle loudly at the two of us. Rising quickly to his feet Dale made little of the space between him and the stove and proceeded to remove the tea bag from its packaging, place it into the old mug and pour the steaming water over it. Reaching back up to the cabinet he grabbed a half empty jug of honey out and poured a tablespoon or two into the mug. Happy with it he picked the mug up and passed it to me with one of his knowing smiles on his face. "Hope that wakes you up."

"It will. Thanks." I smiled a little bigger at him and placed a quick kiss to his cheek. He seemed surprised by the gesture and I smirked shortly before backing down the stairs and making my swift departure from the older man. I didn't want his judgmental and protective tendencies to turn me off to the friendship we had growing between the two of us, but I couldn't deny that I'd be skirting around him for a while. It was that dislike of leadership that always got me it seemed, which was ironic considering I had grown up with the most bossy and nosy man on the planet. It was a miracle that I had made it out of high school without him finding out some of the more troublesome things I had gotten myself into.


	6. Five

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello dolls, I'm sorry this is a few days late. This didn't necessarily turn out the way I wanted it to, and it's sorta a filler chapter but it has one or two moments that I actually like, so I hope you guys do too! Also, it's just gonna be this one and maybe one other before we get into the official timline of the series, so start getting excited! xD

Thanks to Nelle07 and Dalonega Noquisi for the lovely reviews! :D Thank you's to Kathie2808 who added this to their favs. Thankies to xoCATEox and Nelle07 who added this to their alerts. :) It means so much to me you dolls! :)) And to all of you who are silently reading, I love you guys too! I hope you enjoy!

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>I've been knocking on the door that holds the throne<br>I've been looking for the map that leads me home  
>I've been stumbling on good hearts turned to stone<br>The road of good intentions has gone dry as bone_

_We Take Care Of Our Own by Bruce Springsteen_

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><p><strong>Five<strong>

I sat with rapt attention across from Carl as he spun about a story that only a child could. My half-finished cup of tea had been sitting idly in my hands since Carl had come running into me – apparently he was a morning person, and because of this he thought that it was best to begin telling me one of his stories. He was a sweet kid and actually rather funny, so I found myself humoring him with an amused smile of my lips as he gestured about wildly.

He was telling a story about his late father – apparently his name had been Rick and he and Shane had been the best of friends _forever_, they had been partners in the local PD in Kings County too. Before the outbreak though, his dad had gotten shot and was in a coma, apparently he had died when Shane had gone back to the hospital to get him when shit had hit the fan. When Carl had indulged me to this part of the story, it had seemed iffy at best and something only Shane would've came up with, I didn't voice my opinions on the matter but instead urged the boy to tell me a story about his father. Which was what I was now listening to; it was about Shane and the kid's dad and one of many car chases they had apparently been in during their time at Kings County PD.

"…and _then_ the car ran into the lake!" Carl explained loudly, using his hands to emphasize the collision. He was grinning broadly, as his little chest rose and fell quickly from the exertion he had gone into to tell me the long winded tale.

"That's so cool!" I gushed with a wider grin. "Your dad sounds like he was really, really brave."

"Yeah. He would've liked you, Emmy, you're brave too!" I laughed softly. I was anything but brave on my good days; if barely surviving and constantly questioning your choice to still be breathing was brave, well then I guess that's what you could call me. But I didn't feel like I was – brave to me were my four big brothers, it was Bo who had died in an effort to protect me, it was my daddy who had never once backed down when it came to defending me, it was Glenn who risked his ass to go get shit for people who didn't even appreciate the sacrifice he made repeatedly. Shit, I'd even consider Shane brave before I considered myself even close. It was endearing that the boy standing in front of me with a blushing smile actually thought I was close to being like his father.

"I wish I coulda met him, kiddo." I said with a soft smile. He nodded his own head silently as his excitement died down a little. "You got any other stories I may wanna hear?" He perked up slightly as he tilted his head at me and seemed to ponder the question before nodding his head brightly before taking a deep breath and starting it out dramatically; if I could give the kid points for anything, it was his story telling abilities. He had a serious knack for it.

Letting my eyes wander around the camp I spotted Glenn talking with T-Dog, the two of them were laughing loudly and I couldn't help but smile to myself. It was amusing to see the two taking so well to each other, in the beginning I had thought Glenn was going to be holding a permanent grudge on the older black man.I spotted Jacqui with Lori and Carol heading up from the lake with baskets perched on their hips. I had seen Shane go off somewhere earlier, but scanning the camp now it looked like he was nowhere in sight.

Andrea, Amy and Dale were doing something in the Winnebago, and apparently it was funny considering the way Amy was laughing. I hadn't taken the time lately to get any closer to the former college student and it seemed Andrea liked it that way. I saw Jim sitting in our tent with the flap open, reading a book that he had apparently brought with him.

Finally looking to the less vacated part of the camp, I saw Merle and Daryl sitting at the picnic table they had dragged over to sit in front of their two tents that had their rusty truck not too far off from it. Daryl was cleaning his crossbow, and it looked like Merle was giving the same treatment to a set of guns he had laid out before him. Both of them seemed meticalate about the process and for a second I pictured Bo doing the same. He had cleaned every goddamn gun we had every other day; he had always worried that the one time we'd use 'em that they'd lock up and we'd be fucked. I disagreed, always saying that I'd brandish the fuckin' piece of metal like a club and bludgeon the fuckers. He'd laugh and say I only thought that would work 'cause of my lack of experience with the pricks. I rather agreed now after I head dealt with my own pair of 'em.

Glancing up from his baby, Daryl noticed my wistful gaze and nodded his head slightly in my direction. It looked to be a gesture of understanding; some sort that we had attained in the early hours of the morning. He was a completely different man away from prying eyes and I had decided somewhere in between here and there that I actually liked him. His personality wasn't as harsh as I had originally made it out to be – or it at least was familiar – and from little of his past that I had gleamed from our conversation he came from more than just a broken family, and it had made him into the man that sat on the other side of the camp.

Merle – noticing his brother's movement – sent me a glance as well, though this one didn't leave the slight fluttering in my stomach that Daryl's had. Merle's eyes roaming across my body with a dirty smirk on his lips left me with an unsettling chill that swept up my spine. It had an eerily foreboding tone to it that completely unsettled me.

"Emmy?"

Shaking my head slightly, I turned my attention back to the boy who seemed put out and curious. "Yeah, Carl?"

"Why're you starin' at the Dixon's?"

Raising my eyebrows, "I wasn't starin', kiddo."

Carl grinned and started laughing, "Don't lie!" Frowning, I saw that this situation was going downhill very quickly. I felt like I was in middle school again and didn't quite enjoy the prospect of what the boy in front of me would be doing next. I'd just have to nip the entire situation in the bud; that'd shut him.

"One more word and I tell Sophia you have a big freakin' crush on 'er, capiche?" Carl's doe eyes widened considerably, his laughing ceased and he looked around him in a hurry. Considering I still hadn't seen the girl this morning, I figured his reaction was pretty head on for the moment.

"You wouldn't!"

"I so freakin' would, and you know it. Now, are we gonna hush?" He nodded his head quietly as he began turning an adorable shade of pink and I grinned. "Good, secret is safe with me." Even if I thought it would be fuckin' adorable to tell the little girl and see how it all would pan out. Though, I suppose there was a hint of cruelty in there. It wouldn't really be fair to Carl and I'm sure I'd have a pair of mother's gunnin' for my sorry ass if I even threw such an idea out there. The two of 'em were gettin' close to that age as it was, and I'm sure if the two of 'em actually made it they'd have hell to pay as it was. So my sorry ass mouth would stay quiet as long as the munchkins did.

* * *

><p>T-Dog and I had been told – rather rudely if I do say so myself – by Shane to go and get firewood, 'cause ya know apparently when he and Lori ran out to do that, they weren't actually bringing back any so the supply was low or whatever. Initially I hadn't been too thrilled with this command, and I don't think T-Dog was either. For me it was 'cause after watching Shane and Lori for a few days 'getting firewood' had become some stupid ass innuendo for getting fucked in the woods. And sure, T-Dog was a nice guy and all, but he wasn't <em>that<em> nice.

Though he was funny. Extremely funny, actually if you wanted the cold hard truth. He had some insane ass jokes up his sleeves and for a car salesman was actually pretty straight up. I decided I liked him more than I had initially thought I would – his snoring aside – and that Jacqui's judge of character was seriously impeccable. She always did like the funnier people; she was so serious herself sometimes that she went after the free spirits, like Ray had been. He was pretty fuckin' handy when it came to carryin' wood too.

We had been out in the woods for maybe twenty or so minutes; making more noise than was absolutely necessary if I wanted to be honest here. But it was pretty fuckin' hard to be quiet like a mouse when every other thing that came outta T-Dog's mouth was either an intentional or unintentional joke. This guy had really missed his calling in life before shit hit the fan that much was for sure.

"Does this look suitable for the o' holy fire pit?" I asked with a lazy grin, holding up a shoddy piece of wood that looked like it had been put through a few questionable things. It looked like it hadn't broken clean from the rest of the tree either, it made me wonder for a second what may have caused it to break and if the rest of the tree was healthy still or not. I hated Missouri in instances like this – he had spent a summer as a park ranger in California and had brought back all this bullshit nonsense about trees. Sadly, it had stuck with me for the next decade or so.

"I though' we didn' care." T-Dog snickered, shaking his head at me from a few feet away. We had just recently come to an agreement that Shane was a prick and even if we didn't like him – or had a serious loathing for his entire being – we couldn't kill him. This had taken a pep out of my step for a moment there, but then T-Dog had brought up the little ways we could shove it to the bastard. This brought us back to the questionable pieces of wood we were choosing. I figured if worse came to worse than I could at least be positive that the two of us wouldn't be tasked with this job again.

Laughing loudly, reveling in the comradely I had found with the slightly older man, I moved forward paying little to no attention to the uneven ground at my feet. The toe of my boot got trapped underneath a root – I really needed to stop draggin' my feet – and before I could even realize gravity was being a bitch I was sprawled out on the dirt. A lungful of air escaped my chest in an audible "Umph." T-Dog looked on at me with a snicker as I rolled onto my back with a grunt, spitting the mouthful of dirt I had swallowed up out. Tilting my head back I peered up at the bulky man with a hurt expression, which just sent him further over the edge. He was dropping his armful of wood to the ground and bending over laughing before I found myself giggling all the same along with him.

"You gotta knack for somethin', girl." T-Dog continued laughing with a hearty grin on his face. It was almost too easy to think life was normal and we were two friends messin' around in the woods; a weekend away from civilization. It was nice to feel normal again. But somethin' always has to go and ruin it.

"You needa shut the fuck up, nigga." We both bolted up at the voice; it being more familiar for me than T-Dog. The two of them had yet to come across each other, and for first impressions this wasn't really the type you'd aim for. "All your goddamn hootin' n' hollerin' is scarin' off my game." Daryl growled, taking another step closer to the two of us. T-Dog had a scared looked on his face as he glanced between the annoyed Redneck and me - who still sat on the ground with a confused expression of my own.

"Relax, would ya? It was mostly me anyways, so you gonna bitch look down here." I demanded with a quirk of my brow at the man; he seemed taller and more intimidating from the ground. I questioned myself for only a second on speaking to him the way I did.

Completely ignoring me, Daryl took another step closer to T-Dog who was remaining wisely silent at this point. "You best keep that mouth'a yours shut now understood, coon?" My eyes narrowed dangerously on the Dixon as he degraded T-Dog, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that his hands were clenching at his sides. He was trying his hardest not to lash out at the imbecile white boy, but I could tell he was at his breaking point. Fuck, I wouldn't blame him.

"Back the fuck offa' me, muppetfucker! Me and Em'll do what the fuck we want." I snorted at the black man's offensive slur – I hadn't heard that one for quite a while, I'm sure my daddy and Bo woulda had his goddamn ass for even thinkin' of sayin' that to a white man. Daryl seemed ready to kill him too.

Glancing between the two men I had become rather fond of, I decided I needed to diffuse this altercation before fists started being thrown back and forth between the two of 'em. At some point, T-Dog had moved closer to where I sat on the dirty ground, and Daryl had appeared from behind the shroud of trees not too far from where I had tripped. The two of them were on either side of me more or less, and glancing at was now eye level for me at the moment, I saw a way to distract them and possibly to have one of 'em pick me up off the floor.

Fisting up both of my hands, I landed perfect hits to both of their shins, two pairs of angry eyes snapped down to my innocent self. Staring up at them with big eyes, I smiled, "Help a Belle out, won't ya?"

Moving quickly – and instead of merely putting his hand out to me like Daryl – T-Dog pulled me up by my waist effortlessly. Surprising me slightly that he had beaten the reflexes of the oh so holy hunter now glaring even more begrudgingly – if that was even possible – at the dark skinned man. "Sorry, Em." T-Dog muttered shamefully, he seemed upset at his outburst towards Daryl, this seemed to just harden the resolve of how much I was growing to like the man.

Dusting myself off, and fretting over the few twigs that I could feel poking at my scalp, I popped my hip out defiantly and glared at the young Dixon. "What the fuck crawled up your ass and called you mommy?" I huffed. It looked like his pale eyes had turned brooding on me at some point and I was left feeling more confused than not as he grunted with a rolled of his orbs before turning back around and going back to wherever he had been trackin' somethin'.

"What the fucks up his ass?" T-Dog asked with a scowl in his direction not too long after as he went back over to collect the pile of wood he had dropped.

"I have no fuckin' idea, T-Dog." I sighed shaking my head. I had thought we were getting along. I had thought that he was going to at least ask semi-human. But, I guess I had been wrong and it left me unsure of how I felt about him. I had been under the assumption that he perhaps had this small heart of gold hidden beneath layers and layers of rock like Bo had, but maybe I had been wrong. Acting like he had wasn't too surprising if I wanted to be honest – I know Bo woulda done ten times worse if he had ever been in the company of T-Dog – but what hurt the most was that unlike Bo, he didn't even bother sparing me an apologizing glance. At least Bo had given me that much of a consolation when he knew I knew that those screams outside were because he refused to save another soul. I should've known he wouldn't be exactly like Bo, their only similarities were on the surface and this was completely understandable, but for some reason it hurt. It hurt more than it should've considering I hadn't even known the man for a week. Maybe Bo had been right – I was weak when it came to attachments to people. 'Cause I wasn't having enough problems in a world where one day they could be here and the next walking around trying to eat me.

* * *

><p>"Emmy?" Sophia's little voice called out to me from across the fire, a nervous smile on her lips as all attention was turned to her. I had been explaining to Glenn the finger points of why he was <em>never <em>driving my Mustang, for Glenn's sake it was a good thing the little girl had decided to interrupt; I had been seconds away from bitch slappin' the lil' adrenaline junkie all the way to Atlanta.

"Whaddya need lil' girl?" I asked with an easy smile, hoping to coax whatever it is that she wanted out quickly from her. I had noticed it was like pulling teeth with her sometimes, she was wary of everything around her aside from Carl and would often start to say something before quickly stopping when she noticed the attention she was receiving. For the sake of my sanity I hoped she wouldn't do that tonight. I was annoyed enough after the incident with Daryl, I didn't need any other mishaps to completely ruin the day for me.

"Go on and ask, Sophia." Carol urged her quietly from Sophia's side, placing a hand on her own comfortingly. Glancing to her opposite side I noticed for the first time that evening that Ed had actually dragged his sorry ass outta their tent to be among the normal people. I also noted that he wasn't too keen on the fact that Sophia was reaching out to me and that her mother was encouraging it. By the looks of him; he was on Andrea and Shane's side of the fence when it came to me. I couldn't complain too much over it though, it really wasn't a man I'd want in my corner. He was just another slimy bastard like Shane.

Her wide eyes stared across at me as she fidgeted, "Could you tell a story? …like a fairy tale?" I chewed on the inside of my mouth uneasily; I wasn't the fairy tale kind of person. The only ones I knew were the darker versions of the classics; after Grady told me when I was nine that princesses and happily ever after's were stupid I had gone after the more eerie versions in my adventures at the library. I don't think my momma had ever forgiven him for ruining his baby sister when it came to princesses and princes. I somehow doubted that any of the three mothers scattered around tonight would much appreciate me spinning some of those out to their children.

Clearing my throat awkwardly I turned my eyes swiftly to Dale; he seemed like the kind of person who had a good few wholesome stories up his sleeve. He had a thing for talkin' too so I figured this would be a win-win for the two of us. "Why don't you tell a story instead, Dale? I'm not very good at it." Sophia seemed put off at the idea, but at Dale's agreeing smile she couldn't be quick enough to disagree.

Daryl – who along with Merle sat between Carl, Lori and Shane and Dale on the far side of the fire – gave me a questioning look. Rolling my eyes at the Dixon I decided to continue ignoring him and focus on the elder story teller.

"Alright," Dale said with a grin, clapping his hands together in glee. "This was always a favorite of my wife's." He said with a fond smile a deep breathe.

"Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a little country girl, the prettiest creature who was ever seen. Her mother was excessively fond of her; and her grandmother doted on her still more. This good woman had a little red riding hood made for her. It suited the girl so extremely well that everybody called her Little Red Riding Hood.

One day her mother, having made some cakes, said to her, "Go, my dear, and see how your grandmother is doing, for I hear she has been very ill. Take her a cake, and this little pot of butter."

Little Red Riding Hood set out immediately to go to her grandmother, who lived in another village.

As she was going through the wood, she met with a wolf, which had a very great mind to eat her up, but he dared not, because of some woodcutters working nearby in the forest. He asked her where she was going. The poor child, who did not know that it was dangerous to stay and talk to a wolf, said to him, "I am going to see my grandmother and carry her a cake and a little pot of butter from my mother."

"Does she live far off?" said the wolf

"Oh I say," answered Little Red Riding Hood; "it is beyond that mill you see there, at the first house in the village."

"Well," said the wolf, "and I'll go and see her too. I'll go this way and go you that, and we shall see who will be there first."

The wolf ran as fast as he could, taking the shortest path, and the little girl took a roundabout way, entertaining herself by gathering nuts, running after butterflies, and gathering bouquets of little flowers. It was not long before the wolf arrived at the old woman's house. He knocked at the door: tap, tap.

"Who's there?"

Your grandchild, Little Red Riding Hood," replied the wolf, counterfeiting her voice; "who has brought you a cake and a little pot of butter sent you by mother."

The good grandmother, who was in bed, because she was somewhat ill, cried out, "Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up."

The wolf pulled the bobbin, and the door opened, and then he immediately fell upon the good woman and ate her up in a moment, for it been more than three days since he had eaten. He then shut the door and got into the grandmother's bed, expecting Little Red Riding Hood, who came some time afterwards and knocked at the door: tap, tap.

"Who's there?"

Little Red Riding Hood, hearing the big voice of the wolf, was at first afraid; but believing her grandmother had a cold and was hoarse, answered, "It is your grandchild Little Red Riding Hood, who has brought you a cake and a little pot of butter mother sends you."

The wolf cried out to her, softening his voice as much as he could, "Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up."

Little Red Riding Hood pulled the bobbin, and the door opened.

The wolf, seeing her come in, said to her, hiding himself under the bedclothes, "Put the cake and the little pot of butter upon the stool, and come get into bed with me."

Little Red Riding Hood took off her clothes and got into bed. She was greatly amazed to see how her grandmother looked in her nightclothes, and said to her, "Grandmother, what big arms you have!"

"All the better to hug you with, my dear."

"Grandmother, what big legs you have!"

"All the better to run with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big ears you have!"

"All the better to hear with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big eyes you have!"

"All the better to see with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big teeth you have got!"

"All the better to eat you up with."

And, saying these words, this wicked wolf fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her all up."

Taking a long awaited pause, Dale looked across the flickering flames to little Sophia who had her eyes wide and mouth open at the gruesome ending of the tale. It was truer to the original Grimm telling of the story, and I had to give the old man props for that. But by the equally wide eyes of Carol I couldn't quite say that it was his smartest choice. He should've gone with a sappy telling of Cinderella or some shit. You never told a little girl who was living in her own personal hell and equally horrific story. "…and the moral of the story, Sophia, is that you don't talk to strangers, for if you do you'll provide dinner for another wolf."

"And there's tons o' wolves out 'ere in these woods, girly." Merle chortled loudly as he slapped Daryl on the back. Lori narrowed her eyes on the pair and Shane looked like he was ready to charge like the ugly bull that he was.

"Shut up, Dixon." T-Dog seethed from my side. I was slightly impressed by the rebellion the man still had in him, though I figured the short tiff he had had with Daryl hadn't necessarily quenched his thirst on the matter.

"Wha' the fuck you say, nigga!" Quick as a whip Merle was on his feet, two meaty fists forming on either of his sides. Daryl was glancing between the two of them with scrutiny, Shane looked like he was ready to either break up the fight or let the two of them fight to the death. Lori looked completely appalled by his language as did Carol and by the way the mothers of the camp were securing their children. I figured this was going to be a brawl that was solved between just men… and well me. Andrea looked like she didn't want her baby sister to be anywhere near the situation and sent a nasty look to both me and the Dixon's before coaxing Amy into going back to the Winnebago. It was sorta annoying how that woman could provoke the shit outta you but always ran back to that damn Winnebago.

"Let's just calm down, everyone." Dale advised, not bothering to stand at all as he sat his plate of food beside him with a calmness that seemed to be his God given talent.

"Don' chu tells me what the fuck to do, ol' man!" I raised an eyebrow in amusement as the eldest Dixon proceeded to turn on Dale with a wild look in his eyes. He looked completely crazed at this point and I don't think that he was necessarily below knockin' an old man like Dale out and on his ass. Glancing to Daryl, I hoped for just a second that he wouldn't let his brother get that far. I knew if it was me in his position with my big brothers that I would be thinkin' of some way to get him off the goddamn edge.

"I agree with Dale," I said evenly, rising to my feet quietly I crossed my arms. Merle's gaze flickered to me, I couldn't tell in the dim light if he was surprised I was actually talkin' to him or if he was more pissed off 'cause of it. Either way, I decided that I needed to tread lightly. I already had a bad feelin' about the man; I didn't need to further aggravate the monster inside. This by the looks of him was a pretty fuckin humongous monster. "You're makin' a mountain outta an ant's hill."

"You keep your pretty lil' mouth shut, bitch!" Yeah, 'cause that was gonna happen real soon like. Had this man not been paying as much attention to me around the camp that he had been putting off? Anyone with half a mind knew I wasn't gonna fuckin' shut up.

"Quit bein' a goddamn prick and crawl back into whatever fuckin' hole it is you came outta!" Glenn looked stunned from beside me, and T-Dog took a precautionary step in front of me as Merle made to come at me, though he was stopped by the strong hand of his baby brother.

"Let's all be civil about this, people." Shane admonished, placing his hand on the hilt of his gun at his hip with a cursory glance at all of us. His eyes lingered just a lil' too long on me for any of my comfort. "Ain't gotta make a problem over somethin' simple."

"I ain't makin' no goddamn problem! I'm defendin' myself! This goddamn coon thinks he can go and tell me wha' to do!" Merle growled, waving his hand at T-Dog.

"Don't fuckin' talk that way, dick sucker. Ain't one good goddamn reason to be throwin' stupid ass shit like that 'round." I hissed in defense of my new friend. T-Dog sent me an appreciative glance down over his shoulder but didn't make a move to get outta my way.

"Let's just take it easy everyone." Dale chimed in calmly, he was mighty lucky Daryl hadn't let go of his brother just yet.

"Would ya'll shut th' fuck up." Daryl growled at the group of us, my eyes narrowed in on him as he released Merle and took a short step back. The action made me – and everyone else – extremely nervous. Merle's control was questionable and as much as I wanted to do somethin' about him mouthin' off I didn't want to fuck with some tripped out Redneck who couldn't even think straight let alone know what he was doin'. He'd probably fuckin' kill me.

"Did ya here wha' tha' lil' fuckin' bitch call me!" Merle complained.

"They ain't fuckin' worth it, Merle. C'mon." Merle narrowed his eyes on his lil' brother and glanced between me and Daryl with a conspiratory eye. He looked fuckin' pissed about how Daryl was blowin' him and our disrespect off. "C'mon dammit!" Daryl growled in annoyance as he turned as his heel and began the march back to their pair of tents. Merle stood there between his retreating brother and the group of us. Shane was just itchin' to shoot somethin', I could tell by the twitchy hand of his. T-Dog didn't wanna fight but I knew he would if it came down to it. Jacqui was still sitting down in a pop-up chair shaking her head at the lot of us. Glenn was either ready to fight or flee. Dale seemed to be more pondering something far from here than actually paying attention.

"I'll be comin' for you sometime soon, bitch." Merle swore, wagging one of his fingers in my direction. The way he said it and the way his eyes flickered in the light sent a tendril of apprehension and fear up and down my spine before he finally followed his brother and his advice. They all let out a sigh of relief once he was safely hidden away in his tent.

"Let's all get to bed now." Shane said in his best authoritive voice before going back off to a family that wasn't even his own. Glenn was all too eager to get away from the scene of a would be crime and quickly moved off to his smaller tent. T-Dog took it upon himself to escort Jacqui back to our tent and all I could do was remain paralyze where I was. Merle Dixon had left me more shaken than I would've liked.

"Are you alright, Emmy?" Dale inquired softly. His face was creased with worry as I sent him one glance over the fire, he was slowly moving around the fire to me. I swallowed down the nervousness that was forming in my throat – how stupid was it to be afraid of some man who couldn't even stand straight on his best of days? It was fuckin' stupid that's what.

"Yeah, Dale. I'm fine." He smiled slightly at my answer as he paused at my side, the two of us now staring at the dimly lit tents of the Dixon's. I knew which one was now Daryl's and Merle's, I didn't think it was knowledge I'd ever need but the thought eased my mind slightly as I knew which one to watch more closely. As much as I wanted to blow whatever empty threat of his off, I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach – much like the one from that morning – that told me to do otherwise. It was wise to be wears of the eldest Dixon.

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah." I muttered quietly to myself.

"Ya know, Em," Dale started a quiet moment later, a certain tone in his voice telling me that I wasn't going to like where this conversation was going. It was a repetitive conversation that I had found myself having with him more than necessary since I had come to the camp. He somehow now thought it was a classic like _Casablanca_, but unlike that movie I wasn't interested in hearing the same lines all over again. "I'd say Daryl is a lot like that wolf."

Raising an eyebrow at him I frowned and tried to remember the symbolism of the tale that he was getting at, "You're sayin' he wants to pop my cherry? 'Cause he sorta missed that bus." Dale was suddenly turning a dark shade of red and shook his head feverently as he cleared his throat and cast a careful glance around us. I didn't know who he was looking for; everyone had already dispatched to their own tents and the only one nosey enough to listen was putting her son to sleep.

"No, no! I'm just saying that perhaps he doesn't have the best intentions…"

"Oh, so now you're telling me he wants to have me for dinner!"

"I'm not saying that either, dammit! I'm just telling you to be careful."

"That's all you've been tellin' me since I got here, Dale. I think I've gotten the message already."

"I don't think you have. They're not safe – they may be useful and help keep us alive – but they're not to be trusted. I think what just happened here proves that."

"Would you rather I go befriend good ol' Shane instead then?"

"I'm not telling you to do that either, Emmy! I'm just-"

"I know, I know. Be careful, don't trust them, they're evil, stay away. I've gotten the goddamn memo and I'm at the point where I don't fuckin' care."

Shaking his head at me, Dale put a weathered hand on my shoulder, "You heard Merle. I don't think that's an empty threat either. So, don't go talking to Daryl anymore, alright? It'll just give you more unwanted attention from that bastard."

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want, Dale. I ain't too worried about Merle. He probably ain't gonna remember one damn thing about tonight – did you see his goddamn eyes?" Dale remained silent at me side and merely shook his head in disappointment. I didn't see where the fuck he got off acting like this when he wasn't even my goddamn poppy! "Goodnight, Dale."

"Goodnight Emily." I stopped in my tracks for only a moment and sent him a withering glance over my shoulder. The last man to call me that _had_ been my goddamn poppy. The man had died during my freshman year in college and I hadn't been able to get back to Savannah to say goodbye, it was one of many regrets in my life now a decade later.

Shaking my head I crawled back into my hell. Jacqui was still awake as her head turned to me once I was sitting down and pulling the worn cowboy boots from my feet, as far as I knew Jim was still asleep and had been since the sun went down. T-Dog was shifting slightly on the other side of Jacqui and I rolled my eyes. "I'm jus' fine, Jac. Go to sleep." She thought for a moment about arguing with me – I noticed the flicker in her eyes – but thought better of it and settled back into her thin sleeping bag.

Doing the same I sighed quietly to the darkness enveloping us. It wouldn't be long before the two of them started snoring and like a chain reaction Jim would begin too. Tonight wasn't the kind of night that was permitting me a lot of patience and I didn't know how long I was gonna be able to actually lay here and act like I was sleeping. A part of me told me to wait like I had last night and go crawl up the Winnebago to talk to Daryl; it was a part I gave some recognition. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to do that after the two incidents we had been included in today, but a part of me still wanted to sit and talk to him. He was familiar like Bo had been; more like the boys I had grown up with than any of the other ones I had come across in Texas. For what it was worth; it was comforting in a small way and in this hell I figured you needed all the goddamn comfort you could get your hands on.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Dixon." I chirped pulling myself up. Throwing a look over his shoulder at me, he didn't seem all too surprised to see me returning.<p>

"'Ey-"He paused and frowned, twisting around more to face me. "I don' know your damn name."

I snickered, "its Sinclair, Emily Louise Sinclair."

"Ain't you just all proper 'n' shit." He grunted turning back around. I laughed to myself and quietly walked across the roof to the seat I had taken the night before, it was still uncomfortable and plastic. Just the way I liked it.

"Why does everyone think that?" I sighed.

"You gotta Belle's name." He stated simply with a casual shrug of his shoulders, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He sounded like Bo, damn him. The thought made my heart clench uncomfortably in my chest.

"Again with that bullshit." I huffed crossing my arms like a child. He snorted at me with distaste, obviously annoyed by my behavior which wasn't all that surprising.

"If you plan on actin' like a goddamn priss that you are, get your ass back down tha' ladder. I ain't in the goddamn mood." I rolled my eyes, seemed like that was a group feeling for the good ol' Dixon's this evening then wasn't it. I wanted to ask him about what stick was shoved up his ass all day matter of fact. I didn't expect him to be my new best friend or any bull shit like that, but a little civility would be key at some point I hope he realized.

"I ain't a fuckin' priss, so calm your ass." I muttered in annoyance with him, pursing my lips I turned my head slightly to the side to face him. It was now or never and I figured the sooner the conformation the sooner I could get the curiosity outs my system and the sooner I could go crawling back to my Mustang and get some sleep. Maybe. "What's your problem today?"

"I ain't got a problem." Daryl reasoned lowly, his eyes not once straying from the skyline in my direction. I made to asked him why exactly he had gone off on me and T-Dog in the woods earlier than, we hadn't been doin' anything wrong other than apparently scarin' off the game. But, the annoying Redneck interrupted me. "You should think about gettin' your own damn tent."

I frowned, well it had been on the list of priorities for the next time I went into the city with Glenn, but that was beside the point. This wasn't what we were supposed to be covering. We were supposed to be covering why he had been rude, most definitely not my future sleeping arrangements. "I know, that's the plan. But I don't wan-"

"You should think about actually tryin' to sleep tonight."

Shaking my head, "What? Why?" As much as I wanted to actually sleep I couldn't see why it would be such a big deal to get the task done tonight. Like my momma had always said; you always have tomorrow.

"I was gonna take you huntin' in the morning but if you can't even think straight, I ain't gonna waste my time." I snorted, wasn't he just the charmer. I had to give him points for successfully distracting me, though I had to wonder why he wanted to take me out huntin' when he obviously wasn't the most social of men and had seemed to have taken a turn down Shane's road by the way he had treated me during the day. "I mean it. I ain't takin' ya if you gonna be fallin' asleep in the damn dirt." Not necessarily a plan of mine, but point taken.

"Then please do suggest how the fuck I actually get some decent shut eye in." I demanded sourly, becoming less amused by his roughness the longer I sat talking with him. He was definitely an acquired taste, I was deciding and I wasn't sure if I was goin' to acquire the patience for him or not.

"You sittin' ain't ya? Outside is the best damn place ya can sleep." I frowned at him as he finally turned his orbs to me that lingered with a tinge of amusement that I didn't find necessary. I didn't agree with him at all about outside bein' the best damn place. Sleeping outside stressed the fuck outta me, bein' in a tent was bad enough and now he just wanted me to pop a snooze right now and here. Considering I had a lethal hunter at my side made it an easier pill to swallow but after today I didn't know if the feeling I had about being able to trust him was true or not. Maybe he was just as dirty as his brother and just hid it a lil' bit better. Either way he couldn't very well kill me or anything else with Dale and the Blondie bunch right at our feet. Fuck, I was positive Dale was sittin' up in his bed listenin' to us right this damn second. Maybe he knew that too, another voice of reason told me. Maybe that's why he refused to talk to me like I wanted him to. Either fuckin' way I still didn't like the suggestion.

"I ain't gonna let anythin' get ya if that's what your prissy ass is worried about." He drawled.

Taking a deep breathe I was ready to tell him that's not what I was worried about – though I sorta was – and that he could take everything he had just said and shove it up his own damn ass when something dawned on me. There was some part of him that was actually going to follow through on whatever agreement we had. He had actually said he was planning on willingly taking me out into the woods and letting me hunt with him, I wasn't sure how great of an idea that would be by the time I was actually rested, but it was something that got me fluttering with a hint of excitement. "Wake me up when your shift is over." I said, finally deciding to listen to the foul mouthed man.

Nodding his head, he shifted slightly in his own plastic chair and sent me a short glance in my direction. "Sure thing. You look like a kicker – so don' fuckin' kick me when I do." I laughed softly before nodding myself and trying to settle in the chair.

The air was thinner tonight, not so dense with the humidity and heat of Georgia. I could actually see myself sleeping in this temperature, not as stifling as I had grown accustomed to after the electricity had died off back with Bo. If I had thought Bo goin' cold turkey on the boos had been bad, I had been wrong when the electricity finally conked out. The dead walking? That was easy compared to Bo without AC.


	7. Six

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Hello my beautiful dolls! :) So this chapter has a lot of milestones for me AND Emmy! First; it has the most reviews I've EVER gotten - I love all you guys SO freakin much! Second; it's officially past 50,000 words - WOAH! Third; Emmy goes hunting for the first time with someone besides her big brothers - exciting, huh? Fourth; all you lovelies have stuck with her for SIX whole chapters - damn! And fifth; this is the last chapter of completely original before the actual timeline of the show! :O

I'm actually so in love with this chapter even if it turned out shorter than I thought; I had like six pages of outline for it! I love how Emmy and Daryl intereact with each other and have actually read it myself like TEN times haha. I hope you guys love it too! :)

Now, super duper gratitude to Dalonega Noquisi; who's the most consistent reviewer I've ever had and quite frankly I love you THIS much and to Slytherin Studios! xD Mucho gratzi to SIGK1 and SixOnTheSide for adding this to their favs! Thanks to Slytherin Studios, **SixOnTheSide** and .Rosa for adding this to their alerts! :D

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>Trying not to lose my head but I have never been this scared before<em>  
><em>Tell you what I'll do instead, lay my body down on the floor<em>  
><em>To forget what I've done, silhouette til the good lord come<em>

_All we know is distance_  
><em>We're close and then we run<em>  
><em>Kiss away the difference<em>  
><em>I know you hate this one<em>

_Trying not to lose your own, boxing up everything you've got_  
><em>All you ever knew of home, you're scared to see<em>  
><em>Your mother there in the door, you wonder where did the years go<em>

_Where the Story Ends by The Fray_

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><p><strong>Six<strong>

I was laying on something soft. Not five star hotel soft like I would've killed for, but soft enough that I noted the difference. It wasn't as soft as my bed back at my apartment either, but in comparison to the ground I had been sleeping on for the past few days and the plastic chair I distinctly remembered falling asleep in – it was downright luxurious. Wherever this something soft was exactly, it smelt familiar yet also foreign. It smells the woodsy outdoors, tobacco and something that can only be described as masculine. My nose wrinkles as I try to place it.

My eyes popped open and I was presented with the inside of a tent – the very ceiling of it too that was colored an ugly green color. My hands fisted the nylon material I laid upon; with apprehension I pushed myself into a seated position. Eyes still blurry from the light coming in from the thin material I glanced around myself with apprehension. There was nothing recognizable in the well sized tent, it was bare and cold much like the one I shared with the three snorers. Then my eyes landed on the crossbow lazily propped up at the end of the cot. My heart leapt in a panic as they continued to trail across to the other side of the tent where Daryl was sitting lazily in a pop-up chair, lazily carving something out of a piece of wood. Now I didn't know what was happening – why was I even here..?

"How the hell did I get here?" I asked with a tilt of my head, his hands never stilled and his light orbs never strayed away from the piece he was working with. The lack of action annoyed me and I began fidgeting in my spot restlessly as he let a silence sweep over the two of us. It was making me nervous, extremely nervous. Merle was no doubt still in the tent next door and could probably fuckin' hear us. Shit, I'm sure all of this would just look downright peachy when I crawled out of the tent and into the prying eyes of everyone in camp. It was like the walk of shame… just in this case I wasn't too sure if I should be shameful about anything or not. I was sure it wouldn't matter to them out there though. Not at all; those criticizing bastards.

"I carried ya." He finally replied to me with an easy smirk, increasing my annoyance considerably. "Ain't it obvious." Well it was but that wasn't the fuckin point and he fuckin knew it!

"Well no fuckin' duh! What happened to wakin' me up and me a goddamn kicker or somethin'?" I huffed crossly shoving my legs off of the narrow cot in anger.

"Ya know," Daryl began, completely ignoring my former question, his hands actually pausing in their efforts and his eyes straying up to meet mine. "You're fuckin' heavy." His smirk widened as my eyes narrowed. Had his momma not taught him anythin'! Besides, wasn't it supposed to be hardwired into men's heads not to ever comment on the weight? Or had we lost this common sense when the dead started walkin'?

"You betta fuckin' get that foot outta your mouth." I hissed rushing to my feet in frustration. I didn't get what his deal was – right when I thought we were getting along he had to say somethin' stupid. If this was the beginning of a cycle I was gonna be pissed; living conditions were bad enough without whatever problems Dixon wanted to make a habit outta givin' me. Maybe I should just listen to Dale, staying away would save me a lot of hassle.

Ducking out of the tent I barely caught what he said to my next, "Get tha' stick outta yours. We're leavin' in twenty." Rolling my eyes I couldn't believe that he still wanted to go hunting with me. He was officially bipolar and I was officially insane because I was still lookin' forward to it. _Fuck_.

It was later in the morning than I had thought and the daily routine of the camp had already begun. Upon my exit most of the eyes of the camp switched to me. Standing in front of the tent for a pregnant moment I narrowed my eyes on Andrea and Shane who were giving me the dirtiest looks of the group. They were criticizing me and deciding that I was further below them than they had originally thought. I was sure Shane would use this as another nail in my coffin too.

Rolling my eyes I resisted the urge to flip the two of them off, I didn't need Lori on my ass any more than she already was and I had a feeling Jacqui would be less than amused with me. So far she seemed rather wooed by the policeman; a luxury I wished for, it would be so much nicer to not have to worry about whatever the man may or may not have been plotting.

My legs carried me swiftly to the drivers' side of my Mustang, opening the door I pressed the release for the trunk and trailed along the side of the car to its rear. Lifting it up, I stared down into the deep half-empty trunk. My guns were now resting here, along with my duffel of food and the one that I had shoved all my clothes in all those weeks ago. Unzipping the latter one I pulled a wrinkled army green V-necked tee from its depths. Lifting my arms I pulled at the hem of the wife beater sitting snugly on my frame and pulled it up over my head, leaving me in a gray sports bra.

"Ain't you a perty lil' thing!" Merle leered, pausing at the hood of my car. Standing just a lil' too fuckin' close if I wanted to be honest, the way he was lookin' at me was makin' me nervous.

Rolling my eyes I shoved the dirty tank to one side of the trunk, "Why don't you just go an' fuckin' shove it."

His eyebrows rose in dark amusement and he took a step closer to me, "Is that an offer?" Swallowing thickly I yanked the tee shirt over my head roughly before slamming the trunk shut, before I could get a word in the vulgar man spoke to me again. A devilish smirk forming on his worn features, "I don' think lil' Daryl would like it too much if it was, pretty thing."

"And wha' the fuck is that supposed to mean, dick head?" I huffed, taking a dangerous step closer to him with more confidence than I really had. Each second he stood watching me made me more and more nervous, his threat from last night still lingered in my ears and now with what rest I had gained I took it all just a lil' more seriously. Merle Dixon did not look like the man that gave empty threats. Especially when it was to a woman – considering the shit we had been livin' in for a few months and the looks he had about him I was pretty fuckin' sure he hadn't gotten laid for a while and well, I didn't think it was below him to take what he wanted.

"You jus' keep this in mind; ya want a real man, ya know where to fin' me. I'm right next door." He leers again, his voice throaty as he sends me a dirty wink.

"Just fuck off." I finally growl, my hands fisting at my sides as he laughs at me. Actually _laughs_. The audacity annoys me and I'm pretty damn close to lunging at the man when we're suddenly interrupted. I can't say if this was a blessing or nuisance.

"You okay, Emmy?" T-Dog asks with concern as he approaches the two of us from the other side of the camp. He looks ready to fight and Merle's smirk widens just that much more at the black man's readiness for a quarrel. I, on the other hand, wasn't too ready now that T-Dog was looming in my defense.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself and took an easy step closer to T-Dog. A lazy smile twisted my lips upwards at the sides, "I'm jus' fine. Douchebag over here was just finishing up makin' and ass outta himself. So I think I'm all done."

T-Dog glanced between the two of us, full of apprehension and just a dose of weariness. I could tell he was still nervous of the Dixon's and quite frankly who wouldn't be? They were both trigger happy lunatics. One of which I still planned on following out into the woods where he could easily kill and do whatever else the fuck he wanted to me. I was trying not to play Merle's words too close to my heart. "A'ight then. Dale wants to show us somethin' so c'mon, girly." T-Dog finally decided, his words just as calm as mine had been as he grabbed onto my forearm loosely and began towing me away from the Dixon.

"Jus' 'member what I said, _girly_." Merle called out to me snidely. Throwing a glance over my shoulder at him I wasn't pleased to find the perpetually evil look shrouding his face. He looked darker in that second than I had ever seen another person; he looked completely mad and a piece of my inner resolve to ignore him broke.

T-Dog – sensing my panic – quickly moved us away from the older Dixon and to where I assumed Dale was waiting for us. Trying to distract myself from the gnawing fear he had placed in my chest, I let myself think about what Dale could possibly be wanting to show T-Dog and I. Considering the Dale that I was beginning to know and either like or loathe, I figured it had something to do with meddling or trying to lead us on the road he thought best suited us. I no doubt would also be receiving another lecture from the man about appearing out of Daryl's tent in front of the whole camp. Hopefully he'd make the entire ordeal quick; I had less than twenty minutes to get my shit together _and_ deal with whatever the fuck Dale wanted to bitch about.

"Now, what exactly are we doin'?" I asked, irritated. Dale was towing the two of us around what looked to be the perimeter of the camp. There was a string with cans attached and held up with pieces of wood in odd places. From the way Dale was shaking the string in between every few cans I was under the impression he was testing it. T-Dog seemed awfully interested in the entire thing since the moment Dale lead us on over.

"Shane suggested showing the two of you what to do now that you're a part of the camp." Dale replied calmly, smiling lightly over his shoulder at the two of us. Oh, of course Shane had. Any unnecessary workload seemed to be the cause of Shane's lil' meddling. The man had a strong distaste for me yet he seemed to secure me in positions that held a lotta wait in the camp. It was both confusing and irritating to say the least.

"Who set this damn thing up?" T-Dog questioned loudly, quickly silencing whatever questions I may have had lingering on my lips about the entire situation. If he was anything this morning it was boisterous. I couldn't decide if this was endearing this morning or not. Dale however seemed to enjoy the inquisitive nature of him.

"The Dixon's." Dale responded evenly. The thought didn't surprise me too much like it did T-Dog by the look on his face. They were pretty much the smartest out of the bunch when it came to surviving out here. After all just look how well they had been keepin' them fed since they all crawled out here. It was a wonder they hadn't constructed a fuckin' wall around the damn perimeter with the smarts they seemed to carry out here. Even for a threatening asshole Merle was still some sorta genius obviously, though I had a feeling most of this came from Daryl which seemed to be an endearing thought to me.

"They came up wit' this? Fo' reals?" T-Dog continued, he seemed doubtful of the very thought just like I had figured. Not that I didn't understand why he would think that way. His encounters with the Dixon's had been far worse than any of mine and I'm the one that had death threats flyin' at me left and right so that was sayin' a lot don't ya think?

Dale chuckled in good nature as he paused and turned around to face us like a father passing down knowledge to his children. What came next surprised both T-Dog and I. "Fo' reals." The way he had spoken caused T-Dog and I to laugh ourselves, it was funny watching the older man's face skew as he used the broken words he wasn't used to.

"That just whack!" T-Dog laughed, bumping his shoulders with my own slightly to emphasize the humor of the situation that he somehow believed was lost on me entirely. If it was supposed to be something that was easing whatever worry he obviously knew I had than it most definitely wasn't working for me. At all.

We continued on a few more paces before whatever revere we had been enjoying was suddenly sent crumbling down by the Louisiana twang of a certain man with a crossbow that was decidedly becoming a pain in my ass. "Oi' Sinclair! Get ya prissy ass over here!"

"Well fuck." I mutter to myself, Dale and T-Dog softly. They don't seem amused by him and neither am I, but the way the send dirty looks across the camp at him seems to piss me off more than console me. Before either of them can vocally tell me to stop I go jogging over to where he stands beside his tent with an easy smirk on his face as he slings his crossbow over his torso in one quick motion. He seems

"You still wanna hunt or what?" Pushing my hair back nervously at the though I nod. As much as a bad idea it might or might not be I can't help but pay attention to the pull in my chest at the idea of hunting again. Even if it was with a man that I couldn't stand half the time – at least the feeling seemed to be mutual.

Hunting was the way I had bonded with my daddy and brothers for years and I couldn't pass up the thought of doing it again after all these years. The fact that I'd be alone with the youngest Dixon most definitely wasn't a reason either, mind you. "Go grab your rifle and meet me ova' there." He stated, his head jerking off to the side where a farther point of the tree line that surrounded most of the camp began.

"Wait – how the bloody fuck do you know about that?" My tone is irritated and wired as I take a step closer to him – hoping to appear threatening my hands fist at my sides. By the amused grin that his smirk twists into I immediately know that it's not working, but the fact that he knows something that I haven't shared with every goddamn Tom, Dick and Harry worries me and makes me want to act on the situation. Even if at some point he'll have me at a disadvantage out in those woods.

"Five minutes. Get." Daryl laughed as he turned and made for the tree line he had directed me towards, scooping up his quiver along the way and securing it to his belt. Sighing I shook my head and decided I'd press the matter later, but now I had to go get that damn rifle.

"Now," Daryl started as I slid up beside him, my arms crossed as the rifle was slung across my own torso and a handful of bullets shoved into the front pocket of my faded Levi's.

"There's a few rules you gotta abide by if this is gonna work. One; absolutely nod goddamn noise comin' from that mouth of yours. Two; don't get in my fuckin' way. Three; don't muck up the tracks. Four; don't be a goddamn priss. Five – the most fuckin' important one of 'em all – do everythin' I fuckin' tell you to. Understood?"

Rolling my eyes at him I grunted, "Yeah, I understand."

"Good, now c'mon." He demanded as he stepped forward into the trees. Glancing over my shoulder for a sparse second before I followed after him I noticed the speculative gazes firmly pinned to our backs. Dale was shakin' his head at me and the stupidity he thought I possessed and I rolled my eyes. Fuckin 'im, I decided, if he couldn't even trust my judgment what good was he to me? He was treating me like my brothers did and my brothers lookin' at me like that was just fine but some stranger I barely knew doin' that? Well it really fuckin' pissed me off.

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><p><em>It was still and suspiciously quiet in the field of yellowed grass. Or really as quiet as it could get when you had Missouri and Grady arguing off to the side, it was because of this that we hadn't caught anything all morning and it was really beginning to piss me off. More so Zane but that was beside the point because the two of them were completely ruining what today was supposed to be about for the five of us.<em>

_Grady had a thing for tobacco that pissed momma off to her last wits end. The way daddy had taught us to hunt meant that that out here in the wild – or as wild as Texas could get – shit like that wasn't allowed. It scared off the game and well that was worse than sayin' the Lord's name in vain in his book. This had coincidently been passed down to all of my four older brothers and me aside from Grady. Grady was the _rebel_, now that daddy was gone the title had somehow passed from me to him in a matter of weeks._

_This was the first – and the last – time that the five of us had been hunting since daddy died in the early winter. It was a tradition we had carried on since we were younger and growing up in Georgia. No matter if we were in here or there we always got to it somehow and Zane had decided that it wouldn't stop just yet. _

_So at the crack of dawn the four of them had dragged me and my bed outta the house and out here. And when I say me and my bed, I literally mean me and my bed. I woke up in the back of Zane's Ford pickup freezing my ass off to have a pair of clothes tossed to me through the back window and a command 'To get dressed, we aren't looking.' It was an interesting wakeup call and the first like it for years, which made it reasonable to me. I was amused that they had somehow gotten around momma with me and my bed too. It must've been a feat. The only thing that hadn't been amusing was to find that Grady and Travis were driving my Mustang. I nearly flipped my shit before Zane calmed me back down._

_Zane's dirty blonde hair longer was now than it was when he had first come home on leave in November – which had been just a few months ago, but it felt like years if any of us wanted to be completely honest – and especially longer than the last time I had seen him too. It reached nearly his shoulders and I was envious of the rate it always seemed to grow for him. His hazel eyes were hidden behind thick aviators that would later be thrown into the glove of my Mustang on our way home and the matching florescent orange hunting jacket that all of us were wearing made him look a lot like or daddy._

_Grady's hair was overly gelled into a faux hawk and matched Zane's in color, his dorky hunting glasses were firmly placed on the bridge of his nose as he chewed away on his tobacco without a care in the world not even really listening to his baby brothers. His shotgun was slung lazily around his torso as he stood nose to nose with Missouri, a smirk on his face as he got to his brother. He – like Zane – was more conventionally dressed for whatever half-assed hunt this was turning into quickly._

_Missouri's hair was the darkest out of the triplets and rivaled me in its chestnut color at times. We were the only two that shared daddy's hair color, the rest of them looked more like momma when it came to that. His eyes were just as dark as Grady's and rivaled the color of chocolate when he was amused. This was not present in this moment. The leather gloves his hands were shoved into were straining against skin painfully as he quarreled with Grady and tried to restrain himself from lashing out. The five of us had been short since the last of the dirt had been dropped on daddy's oak casket._

_Travis' hair was short and nearly to a bur in a neat manner that showed he'd be leaving the country soon. His lighter brown eyes were dancing with amusement as the two of us watched the ying and yang of the triplets argue it out like children. He stood taller than Zane today with the thick steel toe boots he was thumping around in. Zane hadn't stopped teasing him about them since we had left the house that morning. His Levi's looked funny shoved into the tops of them, but considering he was being shipped out at the end of the week I wasn't giving him any grief._

_We were hunting on a few hundred acres of land that belonged to an oil man that was the reason we had moved to Dallas to begin with all those years ago. Since we had moved out here he had let us come and go and hunt out here as we please. _

_It was just fowl out here but that had always been more of my forte and according to daddy it required a helluva lot more talent 'cause they were up in the sky instead of down on the ground. This had always made me swell with happiness, because he didn't give out compliments too often to any of us. That was more of momma's deal. Travis was pretty good at it too and I figured Zane could carry his weight if he would stop tryin' to break Missouri and Grady up. That was one thing that had yet to change since November – Zane was still our leader. _

_"Woul' th' two of ya shut your pansy asses!" Zane seethed grabbing ahold of the two of them by the hood of their fluorescent orange hunting jackets roughly, the Georgian accent we had all shed years ago coming out with a thickness that burned the ears. Sniggering off to the side I lowered the rifle and turned to watch them. Travis stood my side with an equally amused grin as Missouri and Grady didn't take heed of Zane's command._

_"Just spit the goddamn shit out, Grady!" Missouri shouted, struggling out of Zane's grip unsuccessfully as he tried to make a hit at Grady._

_"I'd like to see you try and make me!" Grady returned with a snicker and a wide grin on his face._

_"I'm gonna be the one to knock you both off your fuckin' feet if you don't calm down!" Zane shouted, frightening off what little of the fowl that had remained in the moments leading up to Zane's booming voice. It was the same that daddy had used on us all our lives and I wasn't too surprised to see that Zane had learned it somewhere between here and there._

_"Dammit Zane! You scared all of them off!" Travis sighed, shaking his head at the lot of 'em. Travis was the more level headed out of us, I figured it was cause he wasn't part of the triplets and he wasn't the baby – like me – so he had sopped up all of ours and was constantly using it against us._

_"Ya know, I'm sure daddy is just loving watching this bullshit." I muttered shaking my head at them. The last time any of them had gotten in a fight with each other daddy had still been alive and even if he had been a little weak he had still beat the shit outta the lot of 'em. Telling them to be more like their baby sister, which had been good comic relief to say the least._

_"Shut up, Emmy. We're dealing with it." Grady hissed, turning on me with narrowed eyes to which I merely raised an eyebrow. They may have made me scared when I was younger when they were made but after four years at A&M and the lot of them being off only God knows where, the fear had lessened and I felt like I could take them on myself if I wanted to._

_"Don't talk to her like that, Grady! Momma's gonna have your ass." Zane threatened, the thought of momma yelling at us with a frying pan in her hand suddenly stilling all of us. She hadn't had to reprimand us often when we were kids – daddy had had a leather belt that did most of that – but when she did she always had a frying pan, an apron and a cocked hip with a look on her face that said 'Sit your ass down and listen'. The five of us had been especially careful not to rock the boat since daddy was gone now and she seemed a little lost. I couldn't say that I was the one that was going to be remedying that; my plan come Monday was to enlist in the Marines in honor of my daddy. But from what I understood Missouri had ad different and was enrolling at the Police Academy to stay close to momma and so the thought soothed me and I'm sure the rest of them into letting things be._

_"What are we doing?" Missouri asked wearily shaking his head and shrugging off Zane's strong hand as he took a step back towards Travis and I. Missouri had never really been one for conflict, he had instead taken the route of Law School when the three of them had graduated. Zane and Grady were hurt by the action; after all it had always been each of my brother's dreams to enlist. Just like it had been mine._

_"Alright," Zane started shaking his head. "Emmy-boo has a point. Now apologize Grady, you know what happens when we hurt momma's baby's feelings." Zane said with a lazy smile in my direction, I grinned in response as he quieted Grady too._

_"I'm sorry, Emmy-boo." Grady muttered after he had spat the last of his tobacco out. By the twitch of his lips it was obvious to all of us that he was fighting a smile._

_"Yeah, we're sorry Emmy-boo." Missouri and Travis chimed in with wide grins. Rolling my eyes at them I couldn't help but smile at the feeling of normalcy that was draped over us. We hadn't been the same for the past few months. Shit, we hadn't been getting along like we had since daddy had been diagnosed and I know it had broken his heart. It had always been his plan for the five of us to always have each other, always be there when one was in tragedy and we always had been – even when I was causing trouble and trying to outdo them. But at the thought of losing daddy we had disconnected completely and I hadn't felt this alone since we had been in Savannah._

_"Motherfuckers," I laughed shaking my head. "Just gimme the damn hug and let's go."_

_Zane grinned, "Well you heard the Emmy-boo!" Then the five of us were squeezed into a Sinclair sandwich and I was squished into the middle. I hadn't been as happy as I was in that moment for years. That had been the last time I had seen any of my brothers aside from Missouri in person for years. We always were in contact but it just wasn't the same and without daddy to corral us all back home for the holidays like he always had the unity somewhat fell apart. It went even worse after momma died a year later. If we had thought losing the patriarch of our family had been bad we were wrong, losing our matriarch had been far more painful._

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><p>"Are you payin' any goddamn attention?" Daryl hissed, jabbing me roughly in the ribs causing me to topple over into the brush we had been crouching in for God only knows how long watching the Buck that was now getting away. I could just sense that this was somehow going to be my entire fuckin' fault. "Goddammit!"<p>

Rolling my eyes at his outburst I began picking myself up, at which point I noticed the long scaly thing that was slithering around my feet… It was then that I screamed, scrambling backwards away from it. Daryl jumped at the sudden noise and turned crazed towards me with his crossbow aimed looking wildly around himself for anything threatening. But he wasn't looking _down_.

"Wha' the fuck is your problem? You scared the fuckin' buck off!" He hissed eyes narrowed dangerously on me. Eyes wide I gestured wildly to the thing that was slowly making its way closer to me, causing me to panic that much more and scuttle away further into the brush. You see, I was deathly afraid of snakes. An incident on a ranch in Texas when I was sixteen was 'cause to the very rational fear. _Very_ rational.

Shaking his head he looked between me and the scaly motherfucker, "Goddamn priss." H muttered as he shifted his crossbow back over his torso and swiftly bent down to scoop the thing up. My eyes widened more if that was even possible as he inspected its body closely. "It ain't gonna hurt you. Fuckin' harmless. Pick your ass up." Shaking my head fiercely at the notion it was harmless I carefully picked myself up from the ground and made sure not to get close to him and the snake writhing in his hands.

Snickering he watches me with a close eye as he finally realizes something, to which he stretches his arm out closer to me and waves the thing in my face. "Are you really tha' scared?" If it wasn't obvious just by my reaction I wasn't too sure how he had survived this long. I didn't care too much for his amusement by my discomfort either. It was rude and annoying, further proving Dale right and I hated it.

"Stop that right fucking now!" I demand as calmly as my wavering voice will allow, the fact that my Louisiana twang is missing in my moment of fear isn't a fact lost on me and it only seems to amuse Daryl that much more. His grin widens as he takes a step closer to me over the uneven ground, taunting me cruelly with the snake.

"Whatcha gonna do to make me?" He laughs. My face creases with a heavy frown as I realize he has a point, I'm not getting any closer than necessary to him and well fuck, that thing is getting way too close for comfort. Glaring indignantly I try to make the dirtiest look I can and point it in his direction. He doesn't seem worried or discontent over it and instead steps even closer, a smirk still on his lips. "You gotta do better than that, priss."

Sighing I take a quick step backwards quickly deciding that if he gets any fuckin' closer than I'm so not below running away like a scared little girl and I don't care how fuckin' stupid I may look doin' it either 'cause I'm not lettin' that snake get any fuckin' closer to me.

Noticing my skittish behavior, "Don't go runnin' off!" He demands roughly. He seems annoyed at the very thought of me fleeing off into the woods and some part of me beneath the weariness of the snake he's still securely holding is amused by this motion.

"I wouldn't have to if you jus' killed the mothefucker." I justify easily, my arms crossing defensively as he glances between the reptile and me.

"Why are you so damn afraid of this thing? Outta all the damn things in the fuckin' world you're scared of this." He admonishes with a heavy shake of his head. I realize he has a point, but I don't care. They're still as scary as they were over ten years ago and they're still goin' to be fuckin' scary tomorrow, no matter if there's dead people walkin' or otherwise – snakes are fuckin' scary!

"I jus' do. So kill it or somethin', gosh!" Shaking his head he doesn't seem too convinced, but his free hand goes down to his belt where a blade is securely held in a leather sheathe. In one quick motion he moves it up to the snake and slices the head clear off before dropping it to the ground without a second thought. Cleaning it on his pant leg he looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "Well thanks." I mutter finally, sheepishly in fact.

He sniffs at me unsurely, "Yeah."

"You wanna find that buck or what?" I ask quietly, unsurely. I'm not sure how to take him now and by the looks of him he's not too sure how to take me. He acts like a simple 'thanks' is the devil's doin' or some weird ass shit. It reminds me of Bo – like most things he does seem to and I try to relax with the thought.

"Nawh, we'll do that another day. Let's get some squirrels." My face scrunched up at the mention of squirrels and this didn't go unnoticed by the hunter.

"You needa start eatin' 'em. They're high in protein and they taste jus' like chicken." He insists with heavy disapproval at my lack of ingesting them. It surprises me slightly that he's even noticed that I haven't been eatin' the squirrels, not many have noticed and if they have they've kept it to themselves. Even Shane with his heavy disapproval of me has kept his lips quiet which is unsettling to say the least.

"I'm just fine without that, thanks." I reply shaking my head in disgust.

"Shouldn't be wastin' the chance of actually eatin'." Daryl tuts at me in disfavor of my apparently bad eating choices. "Who knows how long this place'll be safe, then you gonna wish you did when you had the chance."

"I don't think I'll _ever_ regret not eatin' squirrel." I reply with a roll of my eyes at the mere thought of regretting such a thing. Squirrel had never been my forte and I highly doubted that it ever would. I had eaten it once when I was a kid and had spent the next few days bein' best friends with the toilet. Not only had my daddy gotten in trouble over that incident but I had too and well after fun like that I thought I could easily pass up what this man was calling protein. I'd be jus' fine without it, I decided firmly to myself.

"Gonna have to catch that damn buck if I expect you to make it any longer than a month then." He mutters to himself as he starts walking away from me. Frowning at his retreating form I can't quite decide if him wanting to keep me alive is a good thing or not, considering what threats I keep getting from Merle. I find it sorta sweet that he might sorta kinda care though, he doesn't seem like the type that does and that thought makes my heart thump against my ribs uncomfortably as I rush to keep up with him.


	8. Seven

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello my dolls! :) Did anyone catch the return of the season? I haven't gotten to watch it yet; but I wanna know what you guys thought of it! :) This chapter is really dark - at least for me - and I must give you fair warning about the more mature themes in it.

We'll be meeting Rick pretty damn soon kiddies! And with him comes some exciting news for Emmy! Can anyone guess what? ;) Leave your theories in your review my dolls - I wanna hear 'em!

So I was watching this interview with Norman and he was saying how he was playing Daryl like this really socially awkward/inexperienced person when it comes to a lot of things and so I'm gonna be keeping that in mind while writing Daryl so he's gonna have a different complex than most give him. I thought that might me nice and exciting so we'll see where that goes haha. :)

Thank you to Slytherin Studios, .Rosa, LadyLecter47, and Dalonega Noquisi for leaving me awesomely pleasant reviews! I love you guys! :) Thank you to zaii, Angel Reckless, and Nurseratchet for adding this to your alerts! Gratzi to DrAnime203 for adding this to their favs! :) All of you are so freakin' AWESOME! Even you lurkers, I love you guys just as much!

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>Too much, too much is never enough<em>  
><em>I had you and I gave you up<em>  
><em>No idea where my mind was for months<em>  
><em>I woke up, I cashed in all of my luck<em>  
><em>Walked hand and hand with your trust<em>  
><em>And everybody was kissing on fire<em>  
><em>And we all got burnt<em>

_It'd be safer to hate her_  
><em>Than to love her and to lose her<em>  
><em>It'd be safer to hate her all around<em>

_Caught you having a laugh_  
><em>Did you catch me have the last?<em>  
><em>I've been smiling like this for days<em>  
><em>Just to make up for my mistakes<em>  
><em>In the dark, I watch everyone disappear<em>  
><em>And I am beginning to let myself down<em>  
><em>I am pushing everyone that was in, out<em>

_Safer to Hate Her by You Me At Six_

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><p><strong>Seven<strong>

It's been one month. Four weeks. Thirty days. It doesn't feel like I've been here with these people that long, it feels like barely a week but I guess what they say is true; time flies when you're having fun. Or to be more precise time flies when you have no logical means to measure it. Dale is the only reason I have any real discernible idea to how long I've been with them. Him and his watch are proving to be mildly useful, though I have half a mind to think that he's completely bullshitting me.

In the past month not too much has changed. Glenn and I go into the city for supplies anywhere from every other week to twice a week. Around the fifth time Carl dubbed me Glenn's side kick. I figured it was the other way around but by the way Glenn grinned at the accusation I figured I'd let his ego bloat. He had saved my ass once or twice as it was so I could let it go. I can't knock him too much either when on the one time I didn't go with him he brought me back my own tent – I nearly kissed the delivery boy right there and then.

Lori seems to like me at this point for only the sole reason the Carl. I'm not too stupid to question it either, I've left it alone and on our best days we actually get along. Carol seems to agree with whatever Lori says and for this reason seems to humor me whenever I'm around. I find the act infuriating but try to cut her slack as I see Ed berating her on a daily – if not hourly – basis.

Sophia, Carl, Eliza and Louis actually like me. Genuinely so. This is disconcerting when I've never been one for children. Though I seem to humor them more than any of the other adults so I'm sure that's also a cause to the fact.

I don't see Miranda or Morales around the camp too much, aside from their kids they seem to keep to themselves. They contribute more to the camp than Ed though, that much is for sure.

Andrea still doesn't like me. Still can't really say why either. Amy is kind in passing but I've never taken any further time to get to know the college student when her older sister is looming in the shadows.

Dale still hasn't shut up. But I've gotten to the point where I can ignore him just fine, he seems to notice this but doesn't care. It's like Andrea, Amy and I are his charges in this new world and he thinks it's his God given mission to steer us right. If there's ever a moment where Andrea and I actually get along it's when we're bitchin' about the older man – we don't speak about that after it's happened, it's an unofficial rule that we're both too happy to abide by.

Jacqui, T-Dog, and Jim are the only survivors we've found in the city so far. This is just fine 'cause I think Shane would shoot Glenn and me dead if we showed up with any more. The three of them have blended rather nicely into the pre-established group – better than me, that's for sure. Though T-Dog and I have become rather tight. Jim's gotten closer with Dale – both of them tinker on that damn Winnebago at least every day. Jacqui helps Lori, Andrea, Amy, and Carol wash clothing every day. It doesn't bother me as much as you think it would to not be included in these washing sessions, though I somehow get dragged into it at least once a week. Work of Andrea I'm sure.

I've been trying to give Merle an extremely wide berth, but it seems to be in vain. Even from the other side of the camp he shouts at me. It wasn't getting to me that much until the day Shane actually defended me. The man I hated and who hated me back actually defending me sparked a new flame of worry in my stomach. It seemed to spark one in everyone else too. Daryl was the only one who seems unconcerned with his brother's vulgar behavior.

Daryl and I have this odd relationship. We talked every morning on the top of the Winnebago when he was on watch, but wouldn't speak a word to each other during the day unless he was telling me to 'get my prissy ass over here'. He takes me hunting every once in a while; when he thinks he's found fresh tracks from that buck that escaped us or rather me – he still blames for losin' the fuckin' thing. God forbid we blame the fuckin' snake. I don't know why he takes me instead of Merle, but I figure even he needs a break from his older brother so I don't spend any time questioning the why's to his actions. The only thing I wanna question is his hot and cold behavior – one moment we're perfectly fine and then the next he's telling me to basically fuck off. I don't know what's up his ass and I don't know why I always go back but I'm pretty fuckin' sure the man's bipolar as fuck. If it's not that, then Merle fucked him up more than I thought he did.

He hasn't told me very much about his past; aside from the Chupacabra he thinks he saw and how he got lost in the woods for a few days when he was a kid. His story about the Chupacabra reminds me of Bo – he had told me a similar story about the Yeti up in Alaska – and when I comment about hearing a story like that by a man named Bo he actually smiled. I think he took that as me believing his outlandish tale and I guess I sorta did, I believed Bo after all.

Today was one of the days that Daryl dragged me out to find that damn buck. It was around noon and after Glenn had announced to me that I needed to make it quick 'cause we were gonna be goin' back into the city. Daryl had seemed annoyed by the Korean delivery boy shouting after me, but the look of annoyance had appeared and vanished so quickly that I had barely enough time to acknowledge it let alone question it.

Apparently Daryl had found fresh tracks from the buck when he and Merle had been out huntin' squirrels earlier in the morning. Merle was apparently still out here somewhere too, 'cause Daryl had returned to camp to fetch a few more arrows for his quiver and apparently me. This thought didn't reassure me. Movin' around camp with him and his guns always secured at his waist as he watched me, made me nervous enough, but out here when there weren't any witnesses aside from his brother made me downright jumpy. I was trying to keep myself focused at the task on hand.

I was hoping that this time we'd actually catch the motherfuckin' buck and by the determined look that Daryl was sporting I figured he felt the same. It was a goddamn month of playin' with the damn thing out here so I figured it was about fuckin' time.

Daryl was a few feet in front of me, his eyes permanently on a sweep of the area and the ground as he held his crossbow at the ready. We were following tracks and as per the rules I wasn't 'mucking them up' as per his request. We didn't talk much when we were hunting aside from when we were on our way back to camp and the job was done or whatever. This instance was no different, so as usual I was left to my own rambling thoughts. It wasn't as comforting as it usually was. Today was one of those days that I didn't want silence or the thoughtfulness that came with it. I wanted noise and conversation and something to distract me from the speculations and worries that were beginning to gnaw at the back of my mind and moving towards the front with a feral speed.

Gnawing at the inside of my cheek I glanced around the woods. We were surrounded by the high trees that were indigenous to Georgia and the perpetual smell of outside that no longer bothered me; it was better than what Atlanta smelt like. It was oddly quiet out here today and the thought left me more unsettled. I wanted to break the silence and say something really badly, but I knew the action would leave Daryl annoyed. I couldn't decide if his snippy attitude that was inevitable if I spoke was worse or if the perpetual silence was.

Daryl was such a predator when he was out here hunting that he didn't even make a noise when he was walking and after enough time spent out here and in the city my steps had become lighter and quieter too. I didn't even hear squirrels scurrying around like the usual; I think that fact left Daryl unsettled too.

Finally deciding attitude was better than silence I spoke as quietly as my anxiousness would permit. "I think you've killed the entire squirrel population." He paused in his steps and looked over his shoulder at me, a raised eyebrow in my direction. I couldn't tell if he was amused or annoyed by my random comment on the matter. It could be both or neither really.

He sniffed at me, "Bullshit." Then turned back around and started walking. Rolling my eyes I continued to trail after him.

"Then tell me why it's so freakin quiet." I demanded with a lazy smile.

"It ain't." Daryl drawled. Well, wasn't he just the funniest damn thing that ever walked.

"Shut up," I laughed shaking my head. "You think something's wrong?" I was essentially worried; it was never this quiet out here or anywhere really. There was always some noise, no matter where you were there always was. Not always the most encouraging noises but at least it wasn't this damn eerie.

"Like what?"

"I dunno, somethin'." I muttered shaking my head as I glanced around, the only time I could remembered the outdoors ever bein' this quiet is one time when my brothers and I were huntin' with my daddy. There had been this man that lived on the outskirts of Savannah and he had had this insane collection of animals. One day this alligator he had got loose and the first place it went was the surrounding woods. This happened to be the same day daddy was takin' us huntin' before we left for Dallas. The first thing outta Travis' mouth once we had started had been, 'Why's it so quiet?' Daddy blew him off and it wasn't until later did we actually run into the oversized reptile. It was at that point daddy had all taught us a life lesson; the only time the woods were quiet was when a new predator was stalkin' the animals that belonged there.

I thought I'd sound silly to the younger Dixon if I voiced this thought though, so I remained quiet as he seemed to ponder my observation.

A silence passed and whatever reason he had come to, had caused something to snap in him and he placed a scowl on his face that I was all too familiar with. "Quit askin' so many goddamn questions, Sinclair!" He demanded of me. I blinked at him; unsure where the random burst of angst had come from. Perhaps I had missed something vitally important while I had been observing the lack of noise around me.

"But-" I started carefully unsure of why he was suddenly so short with me – not that it was really that out of the ordinary if we wanted to be blatantly honest here but his loud voice interrupted me. But I found it irrational that merely pointing out the obvious around us had caused him to flip his shit.

"Your goddamn noodle-nigger is waitin' for you, so just get back to camp." He advised. He seemed calmer now yet more on edge. The combination was baffling and made my head spin. Though my eyes narrowed on him as he blatantly insulted Glenn – I don't know what the hell crawled up his ass but it was gonna be my foot at some point or another.

I wanted to argue, I really did. But after a month I had learned something; it just wasn't worth it when it came to him. It was a waste of energy and if you did actually get anywhere with the argument whatever progress you made was lost the next time you spoke. It was easier to just walk away and wait for him to get whatever stick was up his ass outta it.

"Ya know you really fuckin' suck Dixon. You always gotta fuck shit up when we're finally getting along. One bad fuckin' habit!"

He merely turned away from me and started walking again. He was completely insane and I guess I was to, I thought to myself as I spun myself around and started heading back to the camp. It was obvious I wasn't wanted out here any longer, now if only I could get back to camp without running into Merle than maybe I could call the day some sort of success.

* * *

><p>Kicking a rock with the toe of my worn cowboy boots I let out an indignant puff of air as I broke through the tree line. Glenn immediately spotted me from the pop-up chair he sat in around the dead campfire. He seemed surprised to see me back so soon, but excited none the less. He was one of the many that were on the side of the fence that was against me socializing with the Dixon's. It was these moments that I actually agreed with them.<p>

Walking over to him I cocked my head to the side; he had a map of Atlanta in his lap. He knew the city good enough that I thought a map was useless and I didn't even know we had one floating around the camp. He had a highlighter in one hand and it was poised over a street as I paused beside him. There were quite a few trails of the blue highlighter marking the crisp page. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Gotta make a route for us to follow; hopefully shit won't hit the fan this time. It's not just gonna be us." I frowned at him.

"Who's fucked up idea was that?" He raised an eyebrow at me, a silent way of telling me that honestly I should already know who the mastermind on that was. _Shane_. As nice of it was for him to defend me with Merle, he really got me in the ass a lot of other times. "Who's comin'?"

"It's gonna be Andrea, T-Dog, Morales, Jacqui, and Merle." I could handle T-Dog; it'd be nice knowin' the big tough guy would be out there watchin' my back. I figured I could trust Morales too. Andrea and Merle were the wildcards and it made me nervous.

"Oh well that's absolutely lovely." I comment rolling my eyes. Glenn nods his head in agreement as he returns to marking the map. He seems more putout at the prospect of tagalongs than I do; the thought makes my shoulders relax as I glance around the camp searching for anyone who doesn't make me want to rip my hair out.

I figure Shane and Lori are AWOL and doin' unmentionables out in the woods. I've actually come across the act on more than one occasion; I've thus forth refused to go get wood or check the perimeter during the day and only venture out into the woods when it's with the younger Dixon. T-Dog thinks I'm insane because of the antics, but he's one of the lucky ones that haven't had to witness it.

It's that time of day that Dale starts winding his watch and so I'm definitely not goin' towards the Winnebago. I've heard enough stories about time and patience and all that other shit the past month to last me a life time.

I spot Jim at the front of the Winnebago, tinkering around with the engine that sits there. According to Dale and him it ain't gonna last long. I believe some sort of belt is on the list for when we go into Atlanta.

Jacqui, Andrea, Amy and Carol are going off towards the lake with baskets full of clothes on their hips and I frown slightly. It's later than they usually go down there and they look funny without their leader at the head of their group. I haven't had to go down there with them yet this week and as I glance around the camp one more time I decide to trail after them. I figure maybe I can get on some sort of civil terms with Andrea before I have to go into a warzone with her. I know that's too much to even hope for, but I try to keep optimistic as I catch up with them. Besides there nothin' they can do to me that would be worse than bein' eaten alive, I rationalize.

"Hey Em." Amy greets with a smile once she notices me. Andrea turns with an exuberant roll of her eyes but doesn't say anything.

"I thought you went out to hunt with Daryl." Carol comments softly as they settle into their positions at the mouth of the lake. Jacqui takes Lori's normal place and motions for me to take hers; sighing quietly to myself I concede and drop down onto the uncomfortable rock.

I shrug at Carol's question, as much as Daryl annoys me and Merle creeps me out I often find myself defending them against the rest of the camp. "I didn't feel like it." It's a thin answer and I could've come up with better. I can tell even Andrea notes this as she shoots me a suspicious glance; I try not to pay attention to it as laundry is passed down the line to me.

"I bet he's PMSing," Amy laughed, earning a giggle from even Carol. "He seems like he's in a shitty mood today." She adds with a shrug of her shoulders at my curious glance. He hadn't seemed in too much of a shitty mood until I started talking, I thought to myself. He'd actually been downright chipper and then I open my mouth and shit hits the fan. Not too surprising but it still upsets me.

"Where's the kids?" I ask next, hopeful in turning them away from talk of Daryl. I haven't voiced my opinions on him or his whacky behavior or the way I consistently climb up the Winnebago to talk to him at night, but I figure most of them know about the latter and it's no one's business if I find him endearing or not. Just 'cause life isn't so black and white anymore doesn't mean that I need to indulge all my shades of gray to a bunch of women who can't even stand me.

"They're up there with Miranda; she's reading _Shakespeare_ to them." Carol answers, turning her head slightly to motion up to where they should be. I nod in acknowledgement to her answer and fall into a lapse of silence, hoping that the rest of them do to. I don't have much to talk to them about and well, anything I would normally talk about with another woman is completely irrelevant now.

I'm thankful to find that they agree and we work in a peaceful silence until we hear the loud footfalls of boots. At first we ignore this, from my understanding it isn't out of the ordinary for Ed to march his useless ass down here and keep an eye on his wife. I'm not too sure what exactly she can do wrong out here in the middle of nowhere but I figure he's the type of man with a talent of findin' something that would fit the bill perfectly. But he never calls out to Carol to announce his arrival and in sheer curiosity I glance over my shoulder.

My spine immediately stiffens and I snap my head back down to the worn clothing I'm currently scrubbing at. Merle Dixon has found his way down to us and the thought makes me weary. It's the five of us and as much of an ass kickin' I'm sure four out of five of us could give the man I'm still nervous. His threat always rings in my ears while he's around and he knows it. I hate giving him such satisfaction but with the way he acts its insufferably hard not to react to ever single inch he moves.

The sounds of his footsteps halt and chill sweeps up from my tailbone to my neck as I wait for him to speak. I'm trying not to show my nervousness to the woman around me, they're apparently still under the impression that it's Ed like I had been and have taken to ignoring the lumbering idiot. If only it was so simple. He doesn't come down here unless it's for a quick dip in the lake and most the times he purposely goes somewhere during daylight hours isn't without reason. My throat tightens as I remember Daryl isn't particularly close by and Shane isn't either. It makes me sick to be partially relying on the curly haired asshole but as the seconds tick by and Merle remains silent I can't help but hope that he's closer by than I think.

"Thought you were out huntin' with my brother." He finally speaks, his tone rough. The women around me tensed now themselves and down the line Andrea shoots me a dirty look; placing the blame on me for the eldest Dixon to be bothering her and her sister. I want to roll my eyes at her but I find the action hard as I try to think of a logical answer to give the man. I'd ignore him if it wasn't the close quarters and the fact that there wasn't a place I could be heading to get away from him. It was harder to brush him off when you didn't have somewhere to be going; something I had learned from experience.

"Yeah, well shit happens." I stated evenly, glancing over my shoulder at him with a look of annoyance. On the outside I looked calmer than I felt – that much was for sure. He smirked at me and nodded, running a hand over his military issue haircut. Somehow I figured he didn't believe the outward appearance I was putting on, he seemed to see right through me.

"Seems so. Figure he'll be out all night then, huh? Trackin' that buck." He seemed amused by the idea. I disagreed with him on the thought that Daryl would be out all night, I'd yet to see that happen unless Merle was out there with him and he wasn't. He was here bothering the fuck outta me, so I figured the odds of Daryl comin' back by tonight were in my favor. Besides it wasn't too likely for him to be findin' that buck anytime soon.

"I'll leave you bitches to it then." He sniggered at my silence before sending me another one of his creepy winks. Rolling my eyes I didn't relax until I couldn't hear his footfalls any longer, it seemed to be a group condition too by the way they followed by example and finally let out that breathes of air we had all been holding.

"You shouldn't let them talk to you like that." Andrea admonished with a shake of her head. But I couldn't help but remember just a few seconds ago when she was quiet as a mouse while watching me be talked to like that. Bitches be crazy today.

"Yeah, well some shit is worth the fight and some shit isn't. He's the shit that isn't."

"You sure let Shane defend you." She continued with an annoyed look. I sighed at the amount of conversation it looked like we were going to be having. From what I had heard from the way she berated every woman around the camp and the way she advocated for jobs like the men I figured she was some sort of woman's rights nut. The thought didn't humor me.

"I can't tell the man what to do and what not to. If he wants to toot his goddamn horn – let him. One less thing I have to worry about."

Andrea snorted at me, "Yeah well that's obviously why the Dixon's keep you around – absolutely no fucking back bone." If it was anywhere here that didn't have the backbone it was Andrea and she fuckin' knew it. She was overcompensating for something that much was a guarantee.

"Why don't you stop talkin' about your own issues and focus on your laundry? Mmkay? Think you can handle something of that simplicity, Andrea?"

"Emmy! Don't be rude!" Jacqui snapped at me.

"Wouldn't have to be rude if bitch over here would shut the fuck up." I replied calmly.

"You're the fucking bitch! The _Dixon's _bitch! I bet they have they're way with you all fucking night, bet you like that too!" Andrea snapped rising to her feet quickly, her hands were at her sides and forming formidable fists that I was ready to take if I could snap this bitch in half. She was going too fuckin' far and I was this fuckin' close to drowning her in the goddamn lake!

"Why don't we all just calm down." Carol stated softly, carefully. She didn't like conflict and it surprised me to hear her speaking at all; I figured she had hightailed it outta here the moment Andrea raised her voice at me. She shared that quality with her daughter.

"I'll calm down once this bitch," I said emphasizing the point with a rude jab of my thumb in her direction as I remained seated. "fuckin' apologizes to me!"

"I'm not apologizing for telling the truth that all of us know it is." Andrea said smugly. Breathing heavily I flung the wet shirt I had been washing in Carols direction and rose to my feet she made a soft gasp as it landed in her lap. My eyes were narrowed on Andrea as she smirked at me with elation. It was cute how she thought that she had actually won whatever the fuck she thought this was.

"I don't mean to state the obvious here but you're being really fuckin' stupid."

Knowing me just a little too well Jacqui cleared her throat, causing my gaze to flicker down to the dark skinned woman and her disapproving look. "Go on up back to camp, Emmy. Don't waste your time any longer."

I closed my eyes at her words and tried to calm down. I knew she was being logical and I knew how stupid I was acting and I knew I should just walk away and go on back up there and cool down. But there was so much that had been happening lately and it was just piling higher and higher on my shoulders. I tried really hard not to take it out on anyone. I tried not to lash out when someone was bein' stupid and I tried not to yell when Shane was pissing me off. I tried really fuckin' hard and I really fuckin' wanted to let off some of the steam in this moment. It was the perfect goddamn moment and she was just fuckin' asking for it. Fuck, she had been asking for it since the moment I arrived.

Taking a deep breathe I opened my eyes and blinked the green orbs in Andrea's direction. My breaths were quick and ragged as I stared her down, my hands were twitching for a punch to her jaw and my veins flowed with adrenaline. I hadn't gotten this worked up over something stupid for months now and fuck it felt just a little too fuckin food. My skin tingled as Jacqui, Amy and Carol stared at the two of us, holding their breath collectively again. I could hear my daddy's reprimanding tone in the back of my head; the only time violence was allowed is when they threw the first punch. That's what he had taught me and my brothers. It was something I had tried to abide by and most of the time did, but there were moments like this when it was harder than most.

Taking a deep breathe I calmly took a step away from the group of woman; my eyes firmly directed on Andrea I made a decision. "I'm sorry you're a royal bitch. But if you call me somethin' I'm not again, I won't take the moral goddamn highroad. I'll do somethin' worse than kill you. Remember that." She didn't seem worried or phased as I turned and walked back up the camp.

My fingers twitched as for a second I regretted not throwing a punch at the overly annoying blonde, somehow though I figured it'd be better not to be thrown into the same category as Ed. I don't think there were many perks in that corner and I wasn't too keen on finding out just yet. I figured too there'd be more than enough times to do that in the future.

* * *

><p>The fire was dying and nearly everyone had gone off to their tents. T-Dog and I were the only ones still brace enough to be sitting out in the open. I was hoping to see Daryl come swaggering in, but I wasn't too sure why T-Dog was hanging around. Though I was fine with it 'cause I didn't feel like being alone after Merle had watched me all night long with a look I wasn't too familiar with. It made my skin crawl and my heart race; I wasn't too fond of the feeling.<p>

T-Dog glanced at me again and I caught the worried look he sent me from the corner of my eye. Sighing I shifted slightly to face him, "What's wrong?"

"I should be askin' you that." He replied smartly.

"Well I can give you a damn good answer, mister – absolutely nothin'." I replied with more conviction in my voice than I thought possible at the time. The thought worried me that T-Dog was picking up on my anxious vibes. He didn't need any more reasons to go after the Dixon's and I wasn't too keen on giving him another one. T-Dog was reserved at times but in other he was like a feral dog.

"Didn't yo momma ever tell you it ain't nice to lie?"

"I ain't lying, T-Dog."

"Than that means somethin' even worse – you're waitin' for Daryl." T-Dog's nose wrinkled at the man's name and I rolled my eyes at him. He and Dale were more dramatic than necessary and you'd think after a month they'd know I'd do whatever the fuck I wanted to and nothing less. Even my momma had figured that one out at some point.

"Would you just hush? Gosh, you're like a lil' kid. Even they aren't as bad as you are." I mutter in disdain as I shift my hair outta my eyes. He's beginning to bug me now as he starts to fidget; his leg bouncing up and down with too much energy for the time of night it is.

"I'm just pointin' out the obvious, Em." Pointin' out the obvious my goddamn foot. More like bein' a nuisance. I'm too wired myself to say these things to him; I may be annoyed with his behavior but the desire to not be left alone nags at the back of my mind.

"Whatever." I sigh, hoping that the man will take the hint and quiet himself. I find it unlikely as he has this tendency to not know when to hush or when to speak. I don't know how Jacqui dealt with him for six weeks when I'm barely surviving four.

He rubs his hand over his head slowly and I glance at him with suspicion. "You should come back to our tent tonight. 'Cause you do look a lil' worried 'bout somethin'." He says it slowly, softly as to not anger the short temper he knows rest in me. I think after today with Andrea everyone knows what a short fuse I may be, I can't decide if the thought calms or further annoys me. The only bright side to this situation is the wider berth Andrea seems to be giving me and the fact I've yet to receive a lecture from Lori or Dale about my behavior. I could just hear it now; 'You're spending too much time with those Dixon's, they're rubbing off on you.' If only they'd realize I came prepackaged this way.

"I'll tell you again; I ain't worried 'bout shit." Not to mention a night sleeping in that tent again would probably push me over the cliff. I don't think I could stand listenin' to them one more night. I could barely stand hearing the muffled snoring they made three tents down. I don't know if T-Dog was bein' sweet or stupid, but he was pushin' the boundaries real close.

Shaking his head at me, "Whatever you say, girly." I seem to have won that war and the thought pleases me. Pushing back the worry to a place where I barely notice it.

Rising to his feet a moment later he looks down at me with a small smile. "I got your back if you need me, 'kay? So just holler or somethin'." He says with a shrug of his shoulders, smiling slightly back up at him I nod.

I'm not too happy when he starts walking and continues back to his tent, a wave over his shoulder before he's crawling into safety. I remain where I'm seated for a while longer before a light chill comes over the camp, sighing I stand and glance around. It seems quiet enough; no one awake aside from me and whoever's on watch now. I figure its Dale and the thought quiets the apprehension even more.

Once inside my tent I kick off my cowboy boots, leaving me in a pair of colorful socks that Missouri got for me the past Christmas. I smile fondly at the memory as I settle into the sleeping bag. I have a flashlight – that's more like a floodlight in my opinion – by my head along with my trusty skillet that always follows me into the city and straight back out here. I've only had to use it once, but like Bo had said it was pretty useful in close quarters.

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><p>A rough calloused hand clasped over my mouth, my eyes flew open in panic as I began clawing in the darkness. I didn't understand what was happening, but the distinct smell of dirt, the outdoors, and alcohol blurred my sense of smell into a shadow of realization.<p>

My eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness that was suffocating me and my panic grew considerably and I made to scream, forgetting temporarily about the hand muffling my cries. At my attempt at screaming I felt a heavy weight settling across my waist, next a voice whispered in my ear; "No one here but you and me, girly." A lump formed in my throat as his hot breath caressed the side of my face, my efforts of fighting him off increased. He laughed at me, a low and throaty one as he caught both of my arms easily with his spare hand.

For just a split second he removed his hand from my mouth, the suddenness of it caught me off guard and I didn't have any time to react before he was shoving a dirty bandanna from his pocket into my mouth. I gagged at the taste of sweat. He tutted softly at me as I dried to spit the dirty piece of cloth out of my mouth, leaning down and placing a closed mouth kiss to my lips to cease the efforts. My eyes burned with tears as he reached down and began to unbutton my jeans.

I knew what was happening. I would have to be completely insane to not recognize the event I was right in the middle of. I didn't feel as much surprise over it as you might expect; I had been expecting him to pull something stupid and cruel for the past month. I was just surprised he was doing in with Daryl so close by. But wait, Daryl wasn't here. He was still out in the woods, leaving Merle to terrorize the camp as he pleased. Leaving him to terrorize _me_.

I didn't want this to be happening, I didn't deserve it one bit. Yeah, I was a bitch and a handful on the best of days, but fuck did that truly warrant this to be happening to me? I had been far worse to Shane and he hadn't even glanced at me funny aside from the loathing looks I caught every once in a while. Though they had lessened as Merle's sordid behavior towards me had increased. Perhaps that showed that Shane was a better man in a marginally way.

My stomach lurched as his grubby fingers began trailing up underneath the thin fabric of my shirt. He was taking his time here, he wanted me to suffer for whatever horrible reason he thought justified his actions.

I wanted to keep fighting back; I really did. I felt cowardice and stupid not to. I felt like I was disrespecting my entire family to just be laying here with stinging eyes staring up at the ceiling as he took something valuable from me. This wasn't by far my first time with a man, but the fact that I was unwillingly and being paralyzed with a fear made this feel like a robbery of the soul.

What would my daddy think if he saw me just laying here? My brothers? My momma? My long gone grandparents? The aunt that had been raped herself; the one that had told me from the time I understood the concept to always be careful and watchful of the men around you. Especially in dire situations. She understood the concept better than most. She had traveled to the Amazon with a team in the late eighties. They were out there for six months without any contact but each other and the locals they came across. It was the seventh month that a man she actually trusted came into her tent and raped her in the middle of the night. She hadn't been the same when she came back from there and it wasn't for a while did I even understand why.

I tried desperately to remember the recount of the events that had happened to her. I hadn't been paying as much attention as I should have when she told me that story finally in hopes to keep me safe. I felt horrible now for not listening.

I started fighting back – harder this time – when I saw him struggling to pull his pants down. My heart was hammering against my chest painfully as I started thrashing my legs. My knee connected with his back once, causing him to lose some of his balance and collapse on top of me. My ribs felt like they were being crushed at the impact and when he finally pushed himself up, even with the nonexistent light as my aid did I notice the furious look on his face.

"Shouldn't of done that you goddamn bitch!" He hissed into my face, specks of his saliva landing on my face causing me to flinch involuntarily. The dam of tears that I had been holding back desperately broke as he yanked my legs apart. I completely shut off in that moment, my head drifted off to somewhere else; somewhere better, safer, happier.

Once he was finished he roughly grabbed a hold of my face and forced me to look up at him. Tears still freely leaked down the sides of my face and a sob would escape from around the balled up bandanna. "No wonder lil' brother likes you, bitch, you have a tight ass pussy." He smirked releasing me and rolling onto his feet. Pulling has pants back up and securing them, he stared down at me with a prideful look. "I'll see you in a few hours, bitch."

The moment he was out of the tent I was rolling onto my side and spitting the bandanna outta my mouth. My sobs were louder now and the racked my entire body; from the tops of my shoulders to the tips of my toes. I felt dirty, disgusting, _broken_.

His smell lurked in the tent and permeated my nose. Choking on another sob I glanced around the tent for the pair of Levi's he had ripped off of my legs. Finding them I painfully crawled into the dirtied piece of clothing and pulled my boots back on. I ached and every inch I barely moved in caused a new wave of pain. But I was damned if I was going to remain with _him_ all over me.

Before going down to the lake I went to my Mustang and got a fresh pair of faded Levi's, a plaid shirt, a black wife beater, another sports bra and boy shorts. Quickly my feet carried me down the path to the lake. Once it was within my eyesight I began shedding my clothes in hurried jerks of my limbs.

Diving into the lake with nothing but my skin on, I flinched as the coolness of the water stung. The pain eased slowly and soon I was submerged up to my neck in the middle of the lake – the deepest part. Keeping myself afloat there I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to fight back a new wave of tears.

I didn't know if I wanted to stay with these people now. I didn't know if I wanted to go into the city again when he was going to be a part of that group. I was goin' to be in close quarters with him all day long. I knew T-Dog and Glenn would have my back; but that hadn't done me too much help just now did it? If he wanted a repeat than he could get it, there was no doubt in my mind about that now.

I needed to leave. I needed to leave and get back to the original plan; Fort Benning. My heart clenched painfully at the thought of leaving behind the people I actually cared about in the camp. Who knew if I'd even be able to get to Fort Benning? Who knew if it was even safe like Zane had promised it would be? That had been over two months ago. A lot had happened to me, so who says it hadn't happened there too?

Right now stayin' with them was my best bet, perhaps though not my safest. I'd just have to figure shit out. Maybe I'd go back to sleeping with the snoring three. Safety in numbers, right? I wasn't delusional enough to think he wouldn't try again, but I knew I could find a temporary fix until I found the permanent one. I just had to go about it all the right way. I wasn't goin' to let anyone know. After what Andrea had said I figured most of them thought I was fuckin' the Dixon's anyway. So what would they care if Merle supposedly raped me? They'd think it was some game and ignore me. I didn't need that hassle. I was just starting to get along with most of them; I didn't need any more reasons for them to ostracize me and openly admitting to Merle doin' that shit to me would definitely cause that.

I bet Daryl wouldn't even believe me. That sole thought made my entire body hurt more than Merle had. So it'd be our little secret – just like Merle wanted I'm sure.

Tomorrow was goin' to be interesting, that much was for sure...


	9. Eight

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello you beautiful dolls! :) No words can express how much I love you guys! Which is why you're seeing this on MONDAY instead of Thursday! :) The chapter turned out longer than I thought so I figured I'd split it up and give you guys TWO in one week. :)) I feel like pointing out that I just went over the 100 page mark today too!

The critique from the last chapter really surprised me! I wasn't sure what kind of response I was going to get from it and I'm glad none of you were completely offended. It touches me how connected some of you are to Emmy! :) When I first started writing this I didn't think I'd be getting such a lovely response - twenty freakin' reviews baby! - and you guys seriously make me so fucking happy! I love your reviews, favs, alerts, PM's! I love hearing from you, talking to you, sharing the love of the show with you! You all are just so lovely that you just don't get how much you guys make my day EACH AND EVERY TIME! xD

I have so much planned for Emmy and I hope all of you stick with her for her story! :)

This was a hard chapter to write, but considering things I think Emmy is holding up pretty damn good! She's getting close to her breaking point here though guys, so get ready for something to blow up pretty soon. Her and Daryl are just gonna get THAT much more complicated. ;)

Thank you so very much to Dalonega Noquisi, Indigo, melodytaylor85, Comidia Del Arte for leaving INCREDIBLELY ENCOURAGING reviews! You made me so fucking happy each and every time! xD Gratzi to nessabelle, Pinjk78, melodytaylor85, caleb's babe, Splendahoney92,HereticPriest, and Comidia Del Arte for adding this to their alerts. Much appreciation to Comidia Del Arte for adding this to your favs. :)) I love each and everyone of you so very much! Much love to my lovely lurkers too!

Side note; has anyone seen The River? It's super duper creepy, but equally fantastic none the less! I hope they bring it back for another season too, cause it's just like DAMN! If you haven't seen it - DO IT!

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>I tremble, they're gonna eat me alive<br>If I stumble they're gonna eat me alive  
>Can you hear my heart beating like a hammer?<br>Beating like a hammer_

_Help, I'm alive, my heart keeps beating like a hammer_  
><em>Hard to be soft, tough to be tender<em>  
><em>Come take my pulse, the pace is on a runaway train<em>

_Help, I'm alive, my heart keeps beating like a hammer_  
><em>Beating like a hammer, beating like a hammer<em>  
><em>Beating like a hammer<em>

_If you're still alive my regrets are few_  
><em>If my life is mine what shouldn't I do?<em>  
><em>I get wherever I'm going, I get whatever I need<em>  
><em>While my blood's still flowing and my heart's still<em>  
><em>Beating like a hammer, beating like a hammer<em>

_Help I'm Alive by Metric_

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><p><strong>Eight<strong>

It's six in the morning. I haven't been able to sleep, and quite frankly I'd be more worried about my mental stability if I would've been able to. The camp is just starting to stir and I'm growing impatient for the day to actually begin. I need to be doing something other than just sitting and staring at the dirt; blaming myself, blaming others, and most importantly blaming him.

I had tried praying like my momma had taught me to in time of distress; she had always said that in our time of need the only one we could count on was our Lord. I had hoped it would bring me a semblance of peace – even if on my best days I didn't believe in anything but the fucked up circumstances I was living in. My momma had done her best to make us God fearing Christians but somewhere between here and there the power of it had gotten lost on me. The only thing the prayers I tried to send up to Him made me was that much sicker, that much dirtier.

Dale looked at me funny when he came out of the Winnebago and found me quietly sitting in the pop up chair I normally occupied while around the camp fire. He didn't question my actions and for once I was happy to have the older man around.

Shane was the next to come out of his nighttime hiding spot, instead of being quiet and taking my position as it was, the man walked right over to me. His hands were on his hips and he looked slightly disheveled from just waking up. His bushy eyebrows were raised as he stared down at me and slowly I lifted my gaze to meet his. I wasn't in the mood to deal with the man's accusatory nature and I hoped that he would make whatever comments quick. "Are you alright?" I frown at the concern in his voice. As far as I know I look perfectly fine to the outside world, it's on the inside that I'm broken. It's the skin hidden by my clothing that is torn and bruised.

"I'm fine. I couldn't sleep." I mutter with a noncommittal shrug of my shoulders. My voice is softer than normal – especially when dealing with him – and the difference in it startles the man in front of me. He jerks back from me slightly and keeps his eyes firmly locked on mine; looking for the weakness he thinks I've shown to him.

"Maybe you should stay back today then…" He says, trailing off slightly as I make no move to interrupt him.

Sighing at him I tilt my head to the side, "You really think that team you assembled will be a good bet with just Glenn leadin' them?" His silence tells me he agrees in some way, and it's him who sighs next. It appears I've thrown the police office off with my quieter behavior. I try to tell myself to not let it show to anyone else. If Shane can pick up on a new kink in my armor than what will the people I actually know and enjoy see when they look at me now? I'm almost positive as he frowns at me that I must be wearing a sign clearly detailing what's been done to me around my neck. I can't let it show; I can't let him know that he affected me. He can't win.

"Guess you have a point." Shane mutters to me in disappointment.

"I always have a goddamn point." I reply with a quirk of my eyebrow, he rolls his eyes at me but the relieved twitch in his lips tells me more than enough and I let my shoulders relax slightly as he turns and begins to walk away from me. One more glance over his shoulder tells me he isn't completely convinced but that's fine, he's not someone I'm too worried about.

Once Shane is out of earshot Dale calls my attention from the doorway of the Winnebago. "How long have you been up?" I laugh at his simple question as my eyes drift to him. He takes this as an answer and shakes his head in disapproval.

I wouldn't be too surprised if he had seen me running down to the lake. I wouldn't be too surprised if he had seen me crying down there until the sun had begun rising. With how irrational he seemed to think I was I wouldn't be too surprised if he thought I was crying became Daryl fuckin' Dixon hadn't come back to camp last night. If only it was that goddamn simple.

"You better eat something then." His tone reminds me of the one my daddy would use when he was telling me I needed to do something and there wasn't an option here. It's amusing how he still seems to think what he says has any pull to what I do, but he has a valid point.

"You got anythin' edible?" I ask with a lazy smile as I stand. My legs are stiff and half asleep from sitting there for so long, but after shifting my weight from one leg to another for a few seconds I can walk across the uneven dirt to Dale's Winnebago without too much effort aside from the slight twinge every step causes in my groin.

Dale seems pleased with himself; that he's actually gotten me to agree with something for once. At once he begins rambling off the list of different canned foods he still has left over from the last run into the city –which was a few days ago, it hadn't been our luckiest run sadly. He even drops the 's' word and I scowl slightly as he recommends last night's squirrels that Merle brought back. The thought of actually touching something that he's touched turns my entire stomach to acid. Again.

The conversation I had about the little rodents with Daryl still remains in the back of my head and I flinch slightly as I try to picture how things will be with him now. As much as I enjoy his company at times I can't see myself being civil with either him any. After all how could I be friends with the brother of the man that raped me? Even in this gray shaded world it was unimaginable and insane. Just as insane as goin' into a warzone with the man was – if not more. Somehow that didn't make me feel all that better about the situation.

"Jus' gimme the can ol' man." I laugh shaking my head at him at him as he takes a deep breath between food proposals. He looks at me in disappointment for not taking the more nourishing food but I shrug at him; motioning impatiently to the can opener that sat on the table. If Dale had been anything before the dead started gnawin' on all of us, it was prepared. He had like eight or nine can openers floating around the camp; which was impressive to say the least. Shaking his head at me Dale moved to grab the can opener and took to the task at hand.

Glenn popped up beside me with his chipper smile that showed just how much of a morning person he was. As he stopped beside me Dale passed the now open can of beans to me with a caring smile. Smiling back gratefully at him, it turns into a small frown as Glenn moved and dipped his finger into the can, taking a fingerful of the pork and beans out and up to his mouth. Rolling my eyes at the boyish grin he gave me once he had swallowed the food down I rolled my eyes and smiled back.

I didn't want him to notice what Shane and Dale had so easily. I knew if the two older men had that it would be even easier for T-Dog and Glenn to. They had become a sort of surrogate brothers the past month. I didn't know if I'd be able to lie to the two of them if they did happen to question me on what the problem was. I hadn't ever been able to lie to my own brothers about anything important and I wasn't too keen on finding out if this held true to the two men or not.

"So we're gonna be getting that raft Andrea wants today." I raise my eyebrow at his statement as I begin spooning the pork and beans into my mouth. Laughing he adds, "She's carrying the motherfucker herself."

"I've taught you well." I grinned between bites.

"I was thinking of a way to keep the tagalongs out of our way too." I'm instantly more than just a little curious by what he has to say. I've been worryin' over that since he dropped the bomb on me late yesterday afternoon. He seems enthusiastic about his idea and at the nod of my head continues on. "We'll leave them in that department store we keep passing – the one with all the clothes and shit – then we can hit the city. We won't have to worry about them getting in our way and they should be pretty safe there."

The idea seems solid and I know if we had the more docile of the bunch following us into the city that it might actually work. But considering we had the more stubborn members of the camp trailing with us instead, I couldn't actually see the plan working all that well for us. I could picture Andrea arguing with the lil' Korean, Jacqui givin' him that damn look that put the fear of God into any man or woman, T-Dog just starin' at him waitin' for him to get some sense into his head. Out of all of them T-Dog was gonna be the hardest to ditch.

Sighing in distaste I finally shook my head. "I don't think that'll work. We got the bitches and bastards today." He frowns in acknowledgement to the fact and looks down to his feet in defeat.

"I didn't think of that."

"Obviously," I mutter. "Well just keep at it." I encourage with a smile, even offering him the quarter empty can of food in a peace offering. Declining the food he grins at my encouragement, as another thought bounds into his head he starts bouncing back and forth on his feet like the puppy he is half the time.

"Think we can all squeeze into the 'Stang?" He asks excitedly. It's become quite endearing how much he likes the Mustang. He's still trying to convince me to let him drive it; but I'm holding strong in disapproval to the idea. The only ones to ever drive the perfect piece of machinery are Sinclair's and well, I'm not too ready to break that tradition. Besides, it's funny to watch the kid try to weasel his way into the driver's seat.

Tilting my head to the side I try to remember who's gonna be tagging along this beautiful morning, "It's gonna be me, you, T-Dog, Andrea, Morales, and Jac?" I ask, he nods his head quietly and I count the number of people out on my empty hand. "That's six…" I squeezed eight and a German shepherd in once, so I figured six wouldn't be too big of a problem. Two up front and four squished into the backseat. Fuck, maybe I'd shove Andrea into the trunk and call it a day. I'm sure the other five would be more than supportive in this decision.

"So..?"

Nodding my head I run a hand through my flat hair, "Yeah, it'll work. Though if you don't wanna be squeezed in the back between Morales and T-Dog, than well I'd call shotgun sooner rather than later." His eyes widen at the thought, and I'm pretty sure he's picturing the very act that second.

He glances around the two of us wildly; both of us easily spot most of the men and woman who will be accompanying us into the city. "Shotgun!" He shouts at the top of his lungs; causing most of us around him to flinch. Shane glanced over at the two of us with a dirty look and I roll my eyes at him. T-Dog pauses for a second and it's not long before he's cussing under his breath, realizing what happened.

Laughing, "Good job, Glenn."

"Hey, did you count Dixon?" He asks after a lapsed second of silence. I frown at the thought; I'd been blocking the thought of having to tow him along with us for a little while now and then the Korean delivery boy had to go and break that illusion. Dammit.

Frowning at the thought, "No." I could still see the five of them squeezing into the backseat but somehow I doubted Andrea would want to a sit on anyone's lap. Jac I could see being more reasonable about it but it would just be another reason for Andrea to be bitchy with me. The thought that I'd be leavin the Mustang behind made my heart sputter. 'Cause it wasn't bad enough that I had to go into the city with two people I entirely loathed; but now I'd be leaving behind my security blanket. Just fuckin' peachy.

"We could always take Morales' SUV." Glenn suggested with a heavy sigh of his own, begrudgingly I nod my head to the idea. Hopefully I just didn't get stuck next to Dixon – that was about the speed of my luck though lately.

"You can sit on my lap." I raise my eyebrow at Glenn as he winks at me coyly. I can't deicide whether he's being serious about the situation or not; his face turns serious as I stare passively at him. His lips twitch slightly trying to hide a smile and finally I break into a fit of laughter, Glenn follows with a loud fit of his own.

Shaking my head I try to make the situation serious again, but failing miserably. With some form of sobriety on the matter I say lowly and with a wink of my own. "Alright big boy, you have deal." Both our grins widen and I'm assured I won't have to deal with Dixon too much for the drive to the city. Glenn did call shotgun after all and the front seat suited me just fine. Being away from Merle and Andrea for the duration is more than worth sitting on the delivery boy's lap.

Morales had agreed to letting us take his vehicle to the edge of the city; it'd barely fit the lot of us but it'd be a more comfortable fit than the Mustang would've been. With not too much finagling Glenn and I got to keep the front seat spot; I was very happy with this achievement. Andrea had been giving me the stink eye as we were loading up the trunk since the verdict had been made though. Not too surprisingly this didn't make me regret the decision.

I had yet to see either of the Dixon's movin' around camp. I figured Daryl was still out huntin' and that the other one was either passed out or gettin' high again. I found the latter to be more likely for the eldest and I found myself cringing at every movement from their side of the camp. I was getting more nervous and jumpy as the time ticked by for us to be headin' out and I was this close to thinkin' he wasn't even gonna show when he finally ducked out of his tent.

The six of us seemed to tense further as he staggered over to us. Even from clear across the camp I noticed his freshly dilated eyes. Somehow I doubted today was goin' to be that much fun with Mister High and Evil. My shoulders tensed as he caught sight of me; his dark eyes moving up and down my body like he owned me now. I had to restrain myself from emptying the contents of my stomach right then and there. I tried to keep my breathing calm and even as panic and fear creeped its way up my spine. I had been building myself up for having to deal with him all morning and now my resolve felt like it was being cracked little by little. Fractures here and there that grew each and every second that he stood in front of me.

"G'mornin' bitches and bastards." He drawls at us with a lazy smirk in my direction especially.

My stomach clenches uncomfortably and I shift slightly to turn back around to the now partially full trunk; it mostly has bags to carry back whatever we find but there are one or two shotguns the camp has picked up along the way along with a box of shells. My own rifle sits waiting for my in the front seat, along with my skillet. My pistol in shoved into the back of my jeans, the metal is warmed by my body heat now but is still just as comforting to have close as it was when I put it there twenty minutes before.

"No funny business today, Dixon." Shane warns with a stern wag of his finger in the Rednecks direction. I find it amusing that the former cop actually thinks he has any pull on the man. He can't control him any when he's actually within shoutin' distance so I'm not sure what he's tryin' to impose in the man when he's gonna be miles away from the him and whatever vile act he decides to commit today.

Snorting, Merle grunts in a louder voice than absolutely necessary, "Ain't gonna tell me what to do copper, so shut th' fuck up." This doesn't make the six of us feel any more comfortable about traveling with the Dixon. Quite frankly I think we'd rather be towin' along a geek rather than this fucktard. I wonder if we could get around to replacin' him today…

Jumping at the touch at my back, my eyes swing wildly to meet T-Dog's and I relax slightly. He looks worried about me and I inwardly cringe at the gesture; I don't need that right now. It calms me to know that he cares about me – just like it does with Glenn – but if I want to be honest, I don't feel like I deserve it and I have enough things runnin' through my mind without tryin' to keep my shit in line. "You okay?" Taking a deep breathe I try not to frown at the repetitive question; if only they knew how okay I was.

"I'm fine, T-Dog." He frowns at my empty words and glances over his shoulder back at Merle who's plowin' his way through the group and to the backseat. A wink that doesn't go unnoticed by T-Dog is thrown in my direction by the vile man and I gag. He looks like he wants to ask me again, or more directly about what's wrong but holds his tongue as Morales climbs into the driver's side of the SUV. It's noticed than that we're the only two that haven't.

"Just ignore the muppetfucker, Em." He whispers encouragingly into my ear.

Heaving a sigh I slam the trunk door shut and give T-Dog a quick pat on the arm in thanks before going around the passenger's side in the front. Glenn grins at me as I approach and I try to coax a smile of my own onto my lips.

Pulling myself up by the handles on the inside of the vehicle I sat down in the younger man's lap. Closing the door I shifted uneasily in his lap before he poked me in the ribs, sighing I tried to relax as Morales started the car and pulled it out of its spot. It wasn't long before we were tearing down the dirt road. Vehicle full of silence that I was hoping wouldn't be broken until absolutely necessary.

"So are you 'n' Glenn goin' steady, Em?" T-Dog asks with a hearty laugh from the backseat once the camp had become just a speck behind us. Jacqui laughed along with him, Morales' sent an interested grin at me and I rolled my eyes trying not to pay attention to the disapproving look of Andrea's and Merle who had the perfect seat. He saw everything I did and from the corner of my eye I saw everything he did too.

"I'll have you know Mister Nosy Ass," I began with a strained smile trying to play along not only for the sake of my friends but for the sake of my sanity that felt like it was fraying at the edges the longer I sat there. I shift in Glenn's lap to face T-Dog, earning a pinch to my side from Glenn from the movement, elbowing him in the chest. "That we're quite happy together." T-Dog's laughter grew at my playful tone that actually didn't sound as forced as I would've thought. Jacqui, Morales and even Glenn's laughs grew in similarity. The only one that remained stony faced were Andrea and Merle, their eyes cast out of the windows in distaste to us all. I didn't know which of them was worse at this point; figured they'd give each other a run for their money though if it came down to it.

"Just for that – we're eloping." Glenn teased from beneath me, sending a faux offended look over his shoulder and seat to Jac and T-Dog. He was cute with his scrunched up face. He turned the look on me when I started giggling. "C'mon Em! Don't turn on me to!" He sighed, poking randomly at my ribs. Batting him away I continued giggling at the younger boys antics.

"Woul' the two of ya shu' the fuck up!" Merle hissed from behind Morales, his dirty look turning on Glenn and me swiftly. Scowling in his direction I tried to remain firm when his eyes remained locked on mine, drilling into my very soul and making the fractures break out farther across the surface.

Swallowing thickly I finally turned away, my mood now sullen and withdrawn again as I tried to resettle in Glenn's lap. He was a bony motherfucker and was getting' just a lil' too excited for my taste from the small movement I'd make here and there. I was trying not to overreact to all the little things going on around me that was making it harder to stay calm; but each second I felt his eyes on me and every time I caught a glimpse of him from the corner of my eye the jumpier I got.

By the time we reached the outskirts of the city I was actin' like a tricked out tramp – bouncin' all over the place with nervous energy, eyes dartin' all around for whatever danger may be closer than everyone else thought. At one point Jac had actually grabbed ahold of my arm and told me to count to ten; guess I was startin' to rub off on her or somethin'. I was just all too happy to be out in the open air when the old SUV finally came to a halt. I was out and grabbin' for my rifle and skillet before Morales had even turned the engine off.

Once the lot of us was outta the vehicle, Glenn decided that he was goin' to try and be the leader of this lil' branch of the band of merry men. He looked like the kinda person you'd listen to, 'til he opened his damn mouth. Went downhill from there, really it did.

"Just stick close to Emmy and I, and we won't have to worry too much. You all know the basics so…" He trailed off unsurely, rocking back and forth on his heels as he glanced around them. Yeah, that really did it.

Merle snorted at once, offended by the very thought of followin' after the two of us. "I ain't takin' no goddamn orders from a noodle." Both Glenn and I scowled at the offensive man and I almost executed the idea of hog tyin' him and throwin' him in the back of the car. Texas had been useful after all, I had started tellin' myself.

Then his almost black eyes shifted to me, a glint of mischief and things you don't speak of glittered at me in the high light of the mornin' sun. My throat tightened, my heart pounded. "Ain't listenin' to a fuckin _whore _either." My entire form paled at his choice of words and I looked away from the man as he licked his lips hungrily. Glenn looked shocked that I wasn't speakin' back to the asshole, and T-Dog looked ready to wring the motherfucker.

"Let's get goin'." I mutter under my breath, eyes to the ground as I avoid my friend's eyes, hefting my messenger bag full of bullets further up my shoulder before departing from the group, trying to desperately ignore the chortle from Merle's lips as I did so. The sand colored cowboy boots thudded dully across the heated pavement and I didn't bother casting a glance over my shoulder to see what they were doin'.

Like Andrea had said less than twenty-four hours before; I was basically the Dixon's whore. Everyone must've thought it, everyone must've believed it. What was the point of denying it when it actually held an ounce of truth now? Sure, I hadn't gone willingly but he still had touched me. He still had taken me, broken me. Shattering a little piece of me. What did it matter if I defended myself against his words now? If we wanted to be honest he held a flame to the truth there; I could've fought harder, screamed louder, bit harder. I could've done something, but no. I laid there and went into my own lil' world where it was safe and happy. I let him do it to me. There was no penance here now in the gray world. I was just as doomed as the dead that walked; just as lost. No better or worse than the Dixon I was stuck with for the duration of the day.

Glenn jogged behind me to catch up, before finally settling into the calm pace I had set myself into. The heels of my boots clicked with every step and the bullets clinked together when my left foot would hit the pavement. It was a reassuring sound, something that made me feel safe and calm. I had my bullets and I had my rifle. _"No one can hurt you when you have a gun, Emily,"_ my father had always told me. I kept repeating his words over and over to myself before Glenn finally made his thoughts vocal.

"Did something happen, Em?"

"Don't worry 'bout it, doll. I got it covered." I replied evenly, my shoulders straightening tensely as I glanced to him. He sent a look over his shoulder – to T-Dog and Jac no doubt – and shrugged his shoulders. Rolling my eyes quietly at him, I tried to focus. I needed to be in the right mind when I got into that city or I'd be someone's dinner sooner than I could say my prayers.

Turning more serious, I noticed from my peripheral his grip tightening on the metal baseball bat in his hand. "What do you want to do with the tagalongs?" I wanted to tie two of them up somewhere and come back later. The other three I wanted to send back to camp for their own safety. None of these thoughts were doable in this moment though, sadly enough.

"I dunno; just drag 'em along. Fuck it. Bitches get bit; then bitches get bit." I shrugged as we took our first steps back into the city. That was always the moment the dead air hit you full force; it smelt like rotting food and a dirty toilet. Some parts of the city still smelt like people were burning accompanied with that smell of pollution that never really left no matter how long the city was considered dead. It was the only thing I dreaded when we came back – the smell. It was suffocating and a horrible reminder to just how fucked we all really were.

Glenn didn't seem to like the idea, but honestly we didn't have too many choices at this point. Besides, there was some big ass gear Shane thought we needed and I sure as fuck wasn't haulin' that shit around this dangerous ass place all by myself. Sure as fuck wasn't carryin' Andrea's damn canoe all the way back to wherever we coulda dumped them either; I'd be damned if I got killed for that sorry piece of shit. I still didn't even know why the bitch wanted it; she didn't look like the type to fish for Pete's sake! I found the request to be silly and useless at that observation.

"Agreed." Glenn muttered to me quietly in agreement finally after a second of thought.

Motioning with his hand for them to get closer to the two of us a second later, we made our quiet trek through the outer streets of the city. Sadly most of the stores we needed to hit were further in. Merle almost charged to the front of the group but T-Dog stepped in front of him and once behind me lightly tugged on the back of my shirt to show me it was him. Body eased just a lil' bit more and I aimed the rifle, eyes sweeping continuously as we slowly made our way further in.

Glenn was leadin' the way for the most part, but by a quick glance to me we'd decide if we wanted to take the left alley or the right, or continue on ahead. It'd become a system we had worked out along the way – the more silence the better was a common rule to go by when Walkers were close by – and it worked better than me goin' one way and he goin' the other. We were a pretty kick ass team when it was just the two of us.

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><p>Glenn and I had left the tagalongs a while ago; Jacqui had gotten spooked by the street full of Walkers we had accidently come across. Merle was fuckin' with the lot of us and instead of following the route Glenn and I usually took we ended up having to track his sorry ass down and then amend which way we were goin' to use to get to the stores.<p>

So we had finally decided to leave them in the damn department store and cover the stores that'd be more dangerous for a larger group to hit. They'd hit the stores that were in the building while we were gone and when Glenn and I came back with everything else we'd hit the road.

We were in an alley, on our back to said department store. I had a back pack that had Andrea's fuckin' blow up canoe shoved into it, and it was really weighin' me down. It wasn't helping me any that I was still frazzled over the entire day. Especially the glimpse of Atlanta's lovely lil' population, Jac had been scared shitless and speechless; I on the other hand had been downright spooked. I'd never seen so many together at once and the lil' picture of what could be waitin' down any street for me was makin' me jumpy. Jumpier than I had been to begin with. Glenn had picked up on this and seemed to be taking special care of where we went today; it pissed me off to a degree but between everything else I couldn't be bothered to bitch about it.

Then, I heard clicking. Annoying fuckin' clicking that wouldn't fuckin' stop for all that was Holy. It was repetitive and getting louder. It was echoing through the streets and it caused me to pause. Reaching out to grab ahold of Glenn's arm I tugged him to a stop. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" He asked glancing over his shoulder at me with a frown. Which caused me to frown harder; was it all in my goddamn head?

"The fuckin' clicking!" I hissed, looking back down the alley. There was nothing suspicious on either side. This was one we took often and I knew it well enough that I felt comfortable as we passed through it. But not only did I hear clicking but I heard… was that a whinny? What. The. Bloody. Fuck? "Now don't tell me you don't fuckin hear _that_!"

"Is that a horse..?"

My eyes widened as he voiced my own thoughts to me. What the fuck was a horse doin' in Atlanta? Better yet how the fuck had a horse gotten to Atlanta? "What the fuck?" It escaped my lips in a whisper, being all I could come up with in my shock. We stood there staring at each other as the noises got louder – it sounded like it was getting _closer_. Whatever _it_ was.

Then overhead was the noise of a helicopter. The blades whirring and causing just that much more noise. Was someone trying to get us killed here? My eyes glanced up to the sky and sure enough there it was, escaping over the skyline. Glenn seemed more concerned with the horse noises and removed his arm from my grasp, without much fight I let him go.

Squinting up as the sun hit the windows of the skyscrapers. Was today a good day or what? I asked myself sarcastically as the helicopter moved out of my view; who was usin' a motherfuckin' helicopter? I wanted to further investigate that but God only knows where that bitch went.

Frowning I looked back down and to the other end of the alley where Glenn was carefully hovering, his head bent at an odd angle to look down the other side of the street. Coming up behind him I caught full sight of what was happening just a little ways away from us. There was a horde of Walkers gnawing on the poor animal we had heard crying out for help. Then a little ways away from the Walkers and the horse was a tank, where another group was crawling and trying to get in.

"What's happening?" I whispered carefully to Glenn, confused as to why they were so interested in the tank. As far as I knew it was empty; not that I had ever taken the time to check. I remembered the lid being open though…

"Some dumbass just got his ass locked in there." Glenn replied, shoving me further into the alley with a roll of his eyes. Looking at him I frowned, he had that look on his face that he got when he was planning something. On the off chance that it was something stupid I immediately socked him in the shoulder, eyes narrowed he rubbed at the now sore spot.

"Gimme the radio." He demanded. With a heavy sigh I unhooked the relic from my back pocket and handed it over to the Korean. I had a bad fuckin' feeling about this. Bad fuckin' feeling.

"Hey you, dumbass," Glenn started with an easy smirk on his lips; an underlying amused tone hidden in his voice caused me to roll my eyes again. We were gonna save this dumbass; I could just feel it in my motherfuckin' bones. Guess that's what you get for bein' the delivery boy's sidekick... "You in the tank. Cozy in there?"

We waited in a pregnant silence, after no response and a few moments Glenn pressed the side of the walkie and spoke again. "Hey, you alive in there?" He was more worried this time and for a second so was I. What if the asshole offed himself before Glenn had gotten around to teasin' the dumbass?

Well, maybe it would be better that way, and as if sensing my rude thoughts Glenn poked me in the ribs shaking his head. Well fuck, it's not like living was actually a good thing anymore these days. He'd be luckier if he just died in there. At least he wouldn't be eaten; walkin' 'round the damn city lookin' for another meal. Death in an Army tank sounded pretty fuckin' fancy to me. There had been that loud thud that sounded suspiciously like a gunshot a few minutes ago too…

"Hello, hello?" A foreign voice replied.

Sighing in relief Glenn replied, "There you are. You had me wondering."

"Where are you? Outside? Can you see me right now?" The mystery man demanded and I sighed softly as I spun around and took a few steps away from Glenn. I was beyond annoyed right now. I was not interested in the idea of pickin' up another stray. For starters I was pretty fuckin' sure Shane would have my ass if I brought back another mouth to feed and this one sounded like it was gonna be a lot of fuckin' effort. I did not have that kinda shit in me today.

"Yeah, I can see you. You're surrounded by Walkers. That's the bad news." Any other day and this would make the man a lost cause, but no, Glenn had to be a hero, didn't he?

"Glenn!" I hissed, hoping to defer him from his stupid idea. He waved his hand at me to hush and waited for the man's reply. Who knew if he was even sane? He could be just as fucked up as Merle! Quite frankly I didn't want another dumb fuck runnin' around camp like that.

"There's good news?" The man asked, his voice was weary of the very idea and I had to agree with the invisible man. I'd be more prone to believe there was nothin' but bad if I was stuck in that hunk of metal.

"No." Glenn replied curtly. Then why the fuck exactly are we standin' here and wastin' time for? I wanted to so desperately ask.

"Listen whoever you are, I don't mind telling you I'm a little concerned in here." Well I'm a little fuckin' concerned _out_ here, not that anyone obviously cares. At least he was safe away from the Walkers clawin' at his horse and the hatch of the tank. We on the other hand were a lil' more in the goddamn open.

"Oh man, you should see them out here. You'd be having a major freak out!" Glenn observed as he peeked back out at the deathly street. Poor fuckin' horse.

"Got any advice for me?"

"Yeah. I'd say make a run for it."

"That's it? Make a run for it?" Well it'd be pretty fuckin' simple considering they were enjoyin' his horse just a lil' too much for my liking. 'Cause it wasn't bad enough when they ate one of us.

"My way is not as dumb as it sounds. You've got eyes out here. There's one geek still on the tank; but the other have climbed down and joined the feeding frenzy on your horse out here. You following me so far?"

"So far."

"The street on the other side of the tank is less crowded," My eyes narrowed at the proposal he was making; it was not making me too comfortable over here. "If you move now while they're still distracted you stand a chance. You got ammo?"

"In my duffel bag – I dropped it. Guns are in there too. Can I get to it?" My eyebrows shot up, that'd be a sorry thing to leave behind. Sadly it was right in the middle of the pizza party over there. Sighing, that'd been nice to have. At least savin' him would've brought a lil' prosperity to the camp if we coulda gotten to it, but no. _Fuck_.

"Forget the bag. It's not an option. What do you have on you?"

"Gimme a second." Oh, just take the whole goddamn hour! We got nothin' but time dumbass.

"I can't believe we're actually helpin' this idiot!" I snapped at him as the man continued to take his time lookin' for somethin' to use in that tank. How hard could it be to find a gun or _somethin'_ in a goddamn tank?

"We're still human, Em. We gotta." I scoffed at his simple response. If only it was that goddamn simple.

"I got a Beretta. One clip. Fifteen rounds."

"Make 'em count. Jump off of the right side of the tank and keep going in that direction. There's an alley up the street; maybe fifty yards. Be there." He was talking about the goddamn alley _we _were standing in! He was leading the asshole and potentially a shitload of Geeks in _our _direction!

"Hey, what's your name?" Stupid question of the year; worry about introductions when there's a lower chance of someone takin' a bite outta your ass dumb fuck.

"Have you been listening? You're running out of time!" Shaking his head at the man Glenn handed the walkie back to me. Rolling my eyes in sheer annoyance with the boy I yanked it back and returned it to its safety. I couldn't believe how stupid he was being today.

My eyes narrowed in on Glenn when I heard the torrent of gunshots. He was actually usin' the motherfuckin' gun. Did he not realize how rose things were gonna get with all that noise? There were more than just a few streets full of Walkers in this city and he was drawin' them all right to our sorry assess!

"I hope you're real fuckin' happy with yourself, Glenn." I admonished with a shake of my head, my hands nervously pushing through my hair. Removing the rubber band from my wrist I tugged the strands painfully into a high ponytail; had a feelin' I was gonna be runnin' for my life come here soon. The shots were gettin' closer.

"Just relax, Em." Glenn said with a strained smile, moving to open the pad link fence gate that was keeping them from us for the idiot's quick arrival. Somehow I felt like he was doubting this decision too now as he got closer to our safe haven.

Then he was right there at the gate, he gun raised and ready to shoot Glenn. "I'm not one of them; c'mon!" He ushered, closing the gate feebly as the worn man quickly followed after us. He was wearing a sheriff's uniform and he had dark hair and a pair of eyes that from a quick glance looked more familiar than I would've liked.

"Faster, faster!" Glenn urged as the man kept shooting behind us. There were a couple Geeks that were following us now, and the number only grew as our new lil' friend kept firing off shots. It was feelin' like a lot more than just fifteen. Finally his gun ran out as we came to the ladder on the side of one of the building, shoving my ass up first Glenn followed behind me quickly.

"What are you doing? Just come on!" Glenn shouted, and glancing down I saw the man still standing around, glancing between the Walkers and his gun. Glenn's abrupt voice seemed to urge him to follow us up the ladder. The hungry walkers below us wasn't too happy with this decision.

Finally we were on a platform on the side of the building; a part of the old fire escape. Breathing heavily I leaned against the railing and stared down at the large group of them struggling to get to us. Well fuck; this was turning out shittier than I had originally planned.

After catching his breath, Glenn raised an eyebrow at the man and shakily commented; "Nice moves there, Clint Eastwood." Snickering quietly, I grinned over at Glenn. He was really fuckin' good sometimes. "You the new Sheriff? Come riding in to town to clean up these here streets?" Shaking my head at his snarky comments, I bumped shoulders with Glenn softly to show I wasn't ass pissed with him as I had been. If anything this man may turn out to be some comic relief.

"Wasn't my intention."

"Yeah, whatever. Yee-haw. You're still a dumbass." True that.

After a deep breathe, the man turned to the two of us and put out his hand. "The names Rick. Thanks."

"Glenn. You're welcome." Glenn replied shaking the man's hand.

Peeking around his shoulder, I tried to smile at the man. "Name's Emmy. Try not to get my ass killed just yet, kay Sheriff?" The man merely quietly nodded his head at my greeting, as he put the empty Beretta into a pocket on Glenn's pack. Glancing down I noticed with not too much happiness that the Geeks were figurin' out how to haul their asses up the ladder – cause really bein' on the ground wasn't hard enough for us to work with. They also had to know how to climb and shit to make shit worse. _Fuck_.

"Oh no." Glenn huffed quickly moving to where the next branch of the ladder awaited us. All three of us stared up at the distance between here and the roof. Well, at least if I died today I wouldn't be walkin' around later. "Bright side, it'll be the fall that kills us. I'm a glass half full kinda guy." Sure as fuck knew that, I thought to myself sardonically.

"Get your ass up there, Em." Glenn demanded a second later, pulling me roughly by the arms to be in front of him.

Sighing I pulled myself up a few rings and glanced back down to Glenn and Rick, "If you fall, better not grab onto my damn ankle." Glenn rolled his eyes before further urging me up the side of the building before following me up the ladder, Rick followed after Glenn and soon we were makin' our slow escape up the side of the building.

"You the one that barricaded the alley?" Rick asked Glenn once we were topside, running across roofs. We were making our way back to the department store in the same manner that we had left it. I wasn't lookin' forward to the bitch fest that no doubt awaited us there. I'm sure Andrea would be blamin' me for savin' Clint Eastwood over here and all the noise that came with him.

Glancing back I rolled my eyes; I was the only one who knew who had rigged up a few alleys here and there and it was only for the sole reason that Bo had never wanted me to go out here and not know where I could run and hide. I hadn't shared this knowledge with Glenn, I liked it bein' my little secret. Liked knowin' where it would be safe and where it wouldn't be. I was always thankful for Bo when I was runnin' these streets; he had been a savior living and dead for me.

"Someone did. I guess when the city got overrun; somebody thought that not that many Geeks would get through that way." That specific one we had nearly died in had been the one Bo had used for target practice I believe if I knew the street names like I thought I did.

"Back at the tank, why'd you two stick your necks out for me?" Rick asked as Glenn pulled up the lid to another pair of stairs that would lead down to a office and another alley that on one side sat the back of the department store.

I wanted to point out that I indeed hadn't stuck my neck out for him; it had been more like a wrong place, wrong time sorta deal for me. But I suppose that would've been rather rude to the man that had just escaped death, so instead I bit my tongue and let Glenn answer the stupid question for me. No doubt it'd be a real kicker – he was in a heroic mood today.

"I have this stupid naïve hope, that if I'm ever down shit creek without a paddle that someone will do the same for me. Guess I'm an ever bigger dumbass than you." He commented as the two of us shed our packs and dropped them down the hatch. This time he went first.

Glancing at Rick as Glenn got far enough down for me to follow, I added an offhand comment. "We're real big on karma these days is what he's sayin' basically." My shoulders shrugged at the man's funny look before I crawled down into the tight space; fuckin' lucky I'd gotten over the whole claustrophobic thing when I was in college. Be more fucked than I already was otherwise, I thought as Rick followed me down, closing the lid before he was too far down.

Reaching the bottom Glenn passed me my pack and I re-slung it around my shoulders before following him across the abandoned office space, Rick was on my tale quick as a whip.

"Gimme the radio!" Glenn demanded before we opened the door to the alley, grunting I removed it from my pocket and shoved it back into his hands.

"We're back. Got a guest. Four Geeks in the alley." He told the radio and the people on the other side as we jogged down another set of stairs. I could almost hear Andrea sputter at the thought of us bringin' back a guest. Stopping at the foot of the stairs the three of us paused; two Geeks stood right in front of us. Caught by our scent and noises they slowly started lumbering towards us. Where the fuck was Morales and T-Dog goddammit?

Then the door on the other side of the alley slammed open and the two men in riot gear burst out with bats in their hands, rushing at the two Geeks with a feral speed. Beating their brains into the pavement the three of us rushed across the space between here and there. As we slid inside of the back entrance to the department store I heard T-Dog shout to Morales. Quite frankly – when it came to the two men – I'd wished the two of us had been draggin' them along the whole damn time. Pretty fuckin' lethal when it came to Walkers.

Now to deal with the real fun, oh goody.


	10. Nine

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello you beautiful dolls you! :) I hope your week has been awesomely wonderful!

It's technically still Wednesday, but it's just a few more hours until tomorrow and well, I'm pretty much all kinds of hyper so here it is a few hours early! xD

So, this was a fun chapter to write. Rick's fun to have around, that much is for sure. Emmy gets her karma in this one, it's passive but it works I say. Next chapter will be a real doosy! I'm getting excited here, people! We're close to the CDC and that means Emmy gets some pretty BIG info from Rick - any guesses on what it may be? ;) Then we'll be doing the brother chapter, which is already in the works. It's gonna be really AWESOME! :D

I hope everyone is satisfied with this installment. :) And can I just point out how creepy it is that not only in the first episode does the little girl pick up a stuffed animal, but in the second once they have fucking rocks and are banging them up against the window! CREEPY.

Lots of thank yous to Dalonega Noquisi and melodytaylor85 for leaving reviews! LOVE YOU! :) Gratzi to brookeburke and Pin-Chan2 for adding this to your alerts. Thank you to melodytaylor85 and Pin-Chan2 for adding this to your favs. You all are just so so lovely! :)

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>You've been acting awful tough lately<em>  
><em>Smoking a lot of cigarettes lately<em>  
><em>But inside, you're just a little baby<em>  
><em>It's okay to say you've got a weak spot<em>  
><em>You don't always have to be on top<em>  
><em>Better to be hated than love, love, loved for what you're not<em>

_You're vulnerable, you're vulnerable_  
><em>You are not a robot<em>  
><em>You're loveable, so loveable<em>  
><em>But you're just troubled<em>

_Guess what? I'm not a robot, a robot_  
><em>You've been hanging with the unloved kids<em>  
><em>Who you never really liked and you never trusted<em>  
><em>But you are so magnetic, you pick up all the pins<em>  
><em>Never committing to anything<em>  
><em>You don't pick up the phone when it ring, ring, rings<em>  
><em>Don't be so pathetic, just open up and sing<em>

_I'm vulnerable, I'm vulnerable_  
><em>I am not a robot<em>  
><em>You're loveable, so loveable<em>  
><em>But you're just troubled<em>

_Can you teach me how to feel real?  
><em>_Can you turn my power on?  
><em>_Well, let the drum beat drop_

_I Am Not A Robot by Marina and The Diamonds_

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><p><strong>Nine<strong>

Once we were inside, Andrea was on Rick like a goddamn animal. A gun in her hands as she shoved the man into a stack of grates. "You son of a bitch!" She shouted at him. I don't know how much more dramatic she could get; sure he had just grabbed us the attention of potentially the whole goddamn city but that didn't mean we had to go half-cocked and kill the bastard. Though the idea of hog-tying Andrea still sounded suspiciously like a good one to me.

"I'm gonna kill you!" She threatened a breath later, shoving the gun further into his face. Rick looked shell shocked and stared down the barrel with a pair of wide eyes.

"Just chill out, Andrea. Back off." Morales advised after he removed the helmet from his head. I would've made a noise of approval but the way the two of us had been goin' today I didn't think that would save Rick's poor ass any sooner.

"Come on, leave him!" Jacqui added, stepping up beside her. Glancing between the lot of them I decided Jac was the voice of reason today. If it came down to who was gonna convince Andrea not to shoot it was that lady right there.

"Tell me you're kidding me. We're dead because of this asshole."

"Andrea, I said back the hell off." Morales demanded, moving closer to the two of them, making a special point to punctuate each and every word.

Shaking my head at them I slid the pack off of my shoulders; bitch had more important things to worry about, like the sorry piece of shit shoved into this thing. There was a silence that enveloped all of us; Andrea staring down Rick and Morales breathing down Andrea's neck. Glenn, Jac and I remained on the sidelines and I hoped for whatever the fuck she was trying to do to be somethin' quick.

"Or shoot him." Morales added a shrug of his shoulders as he took a step back from her. Rick looked downright fuckin' worried now and with a dry sob Andrea lowered the gun taking a few steps back.

"We're dead. All of us. Because of you." She said huskily, her head shaking in disbelief. I personally thought she was layin' it on a lil' heavy. Ain't nothin' Glenn and I hadn't wormed our way outta before, so I figured either with the extra weight the genius would come up with somethin' sooner or later. Hopefully sooner.

"I don't understand…" Rick trailed off, glancing between each of us. Rolling my eyes I had to wonder how he had survived this long bein' this fuckin' daft. It wasn't rocket science, anyone with a brain and ears could figure out why we were fucked three ways from Sunday.

"Look," Morales started, grabbing ahold of Rick's arm and leading him to the front of the department store. The rest of us followed after him quickly. "We came into the city to scavenge for supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving. The key to surviving? Sneaking in and out. Tip toeing, not shooting up the goddamn streets!"

"Every Geek around here heard poppin' off rounds for miles!" T-Dog hissed, shaking his head as we stopped in the main floor of the store. In front of us were the glass doors that kept them from us. Outside those doors was a fuckin' humongous mass of Geeks tryin' to get to us 'cause of assholes racket. I hadn't realized we had drawn such a crowd; I was just as pissed as Andrea now.

"You just rang the dinner bell." Andrea whispered, looking out to what was trying to get inside to us.

At their loudening moans and dead hands banging up on the glass a chill swept up my spine; we were definitely more fucked than I had originally thought. We needed a goddamn plan and we needed one now. There was one that was even bangin' a goddamn rock on the fuckin' door; T-Dog grabbed a hold of my upper arm loosely and tugged me backwards as we moved farther back.

"Get the picture now?" Morales asked sarcastically.

"What the fuck were you doin' out there anyway?" I finally asked, shoving the full pack into Andrea's arms; receiving a dark scowl from her in the process. Fuck her; I had just carried that thing through more shit than was really necessary. Least the bitch could do was take it off my hands now.

"Trying to find the helicopter." Rick replied calmly, my eyes narrowed. So that hadn't been in my head after all, well that was reassuring. If even a little.

T-Dog was aghast, completely offended by the very thought. "Helicopter? What the fuck? There ain't no helicopter!"

"You were just imaginin' things; that happens." Jacqui reasoned, brushing the very thought off. Well fuck, back to square one, I thought quietly to myself.

"I saw it!" Rick snapped back, adamant about it. I couldn't knock him; at least he was pretty damn sure about seein' it. I wasn't sure if Glenn was even payin' attention. He had been more absorbed in savin' dumbass over here at the time so I figure maybe it was just the two of us that had seen it.

"Hey T-Dog; try the CB. You can contact the others." Morales suggested over his shoulder to the black man. Sighing, I didn't know if I liked that idea or not. Somehow I still could picture this all bein' turned around on me at some point. Apparently I was an incredible scape goat.

"Others?" Morales instantly had Rick's attention back on him. "The refugee center?"

I scoffed at the very idea; I'd be damned if I was even gonna think of that place. Bo hadn't told me anythin' but horror tales about the front lawn so I wasn't too interested in findin' out anymore. I found it outrageous that he actually thought we had come from there. He obviously didn't understand the basic rule of thumb in these situations; everyone in, but no one out. If we were from the supposed safe haven we sure as fuck wouldn't be scrounging around for scraps in this hell that much was for sure. They'd sooner let us all die before reopening the doors for anything.

"Yeah, the refugee center; they've got biscuits waitin' in the oven for us." Jacqui quipped; a small laugh escaped my lips. She sent an evener smaller smile to me before turning serious again.

"Got no signal; maybe the roof..?" T-Dog suggested, looking between Morales and I. Seemed like a pretty solid idea until we heard the gunshot go off. Well, that's where Merle had run off too. Good to know, I thought sarcastically.

"Oh fuck, was that Dixon?" Andrea asked in annoyance, her gaze flickered to me like he was actually my concern. The roll of my eyes was the only response she was entitled to. I was pissed I was havin' t deal with him just like everyone else was.

"Come on, let's go!" Glenn demanded to Rick and I as the rest of them moved to the stairwell that led up to the roof. Glancing back to the doors, I gritted my teeth. They were inches away from breaking the glass, than we'd all be really fucked. Huffing I jogged after Glenn and the rest of the group. Rick was hot on my tail a moment later.

When we finally got up to the roof, there stood the eldest Dixon laughing manically with a hunting rifle in his hands. Right on the ledge he stood firing off rounds into the mass of dead below us. It seemed to be a sport to him, and I noticed with annoyance that my purse sat at his feet. He was usin' my goddamn ammo! 'Cause he hadn't fucked me over enough, he had to go and fuckin' steal from me to boot. Goddamn redneck.

"Hey, Dixon? Are you crazy?" Morales screamed, rushing across the roof. T-Dog, Andrea, Jacqui, Glenn, I and Rick were right behind him. Equal kinds of pissed. He was a major fuck up, that was the only logical explanation for what he was doing in this moment. At least Rick had been savin' his goddamn ass; Merle was just playin' a game that was makin' shit worse for the lot of us. Not that he fuckin' cared. I swear the only reason he had even come into the city with us was to fuck us all up a lil' bit more; me especially.

"You outta be more polite to a man with a gun!" Merle suggested loudly after he had fired off two more rounds. Swinging around to face us he had waved the gun in our direction threateningly, a smirk on his lips. Jumping down he started walking closer to us, my arms crossed protectively across my chest as his eyes landed on me. "A lil' common sense."

"Man, you're wastin' bullets we ain't even got!" T-Dog complained, jumping down from the lift in the roof to get further to the vile creature. No, no, more specifically wastin' _my _goddamn bullets! But I figured now wasn't the time to invoke this shade of gray. 'Sides, I didn't think the small one or two second pause it was gonna take for Merle to realize a black man was bossin' him would give me too much time to get this thought in. Had more important things to worry about in about sixty seconds. "And you're bringin' 'em all here! Just chill!"

"Hey, ain't bad enough I've had this taco on my ass all day, now I gotta take orders from you?" Merle huffed, motioning between Morales and T-Dog. He was getting' too fuckin' close to T-Dog for my comfort, but I stood my ground on the lift as I watched it play out. "I don't think so bro. That'll be the day."

"That'll be the day? You got somethin' you tryin' to tell me?" I don't know if T-Dog was bein' purposely stupid about this or what, but my gut tightened as Merle took another step closer to T-Dog threateningly. I hoped he'd drop it, Merle really wasn't worth it. Karma would bite him in the ass soon enough.

"Just drop it, T-Dog. Shit ain't worth it." I called out to him softly, hopefully even. He raised his hand at me to silence me and narrowed his eyes on Merle; just beggin' him to say somethin' stupid. This was gonna be painful.

"Now, Merle, just relax, okay? We got enough trouble." Morales commented from the other side, trying to calm down the two heated men. It was obvious me tellin' him wouldn't do any good so maybe Morales – our un-official leader for the day – would have the pull required to defuse this bomb. From my peripheral I noticed Rick glancing to Glenn in question, Glenn immediately shook his head in answer. Apparently the good ol' Sheriff wanted to be the one to save the day.

"You wanna know the day? I'll tell you the day Mister Yo. It's the day I take orders from a nigger." The gang sign he had sorta thrown up had actually been funny for a moment before he further insulted T-Dog.

T-Dog reacted quickly and was throwin' a punch in his direction before I could even blink; Merle blocked it and instead shoved the butt of his rifle into T-Dog's face. T-Dog hit the floor quickly and just like that Rick was jumping to action. Rick tried to grab ahold of Merle, but Merle gave him a good blow to the jaw.

After he was finished with the lawman he returned to T-Dog who was just startin' to get up. He delivered a swift blow with his foot to T-Dog's chest, sending him back a couple of feet. Quickly Merle was back on him and delivered another one to his jaw, sending him flying into one of the pipes that lay out across the roof.

Then when T-Dog was finally staying down he started kicking him in the ribs, repeated blows as everyone around the two of them were crying out for them to stop. My hand was at my mouth in shock and my eyes were tearing up as I took a short step back away from the entire thing. I couldn't believe what I was seeing; I couldn't believe what was happening. Better yet, I couldn't believe I wasn't doin' anything about it.

When Merle got bored of kickin' the poor man, he bent down beside T-Dog's prone form and started pummeling his fists into T-Dog's face. Morales tried to stop him, but before he could even get close enough to do any damage to Merle, Merle was sending a fist backwards into Morales' gut. It was after this that Merle drew the pistol from his pants, and shoved it into T-Dog's face.

"No, no, please." Andrea begged from one side of them. It made me sick that instead of me – the friend of the man that was getting the shit beaten out of him – it was her that was defending him. But even if I would've tried I wasn't too sure what would've come out, if anything.

Thunder rolled in the sky and Merle glanced between each and every one of us. A special smirk just for me twisted his lips when he noticed the distress he was causing me. "Don't want me to kill your nigger, huh?" My silence and lack of response a moment later angered him and he jabbed the gun further into T-Dog's face, earning a squeak to escape my lips. Laughing he leaned back a little ways away from T-Dog and spat on his chest.

"How about we have ourselves a lil' pow-wow? Huh? Talk about who's really in charge now here? Don't that sound good bitch?" He asked, rising to his feet. He stood there for a second proudly, his gaze flickering back to mine in a way that made my heart race – and not in a good way.

"I vote me! Anyone else?" Merle shouted as Morales, Andrea and Jacqui hauled T-Dog further away from him in a hurry.

Shaking my head in disbelief I remained in my place. I couldn't believe him. He was more off his rocker than any of us had formerly thought. It was a mystery how we had survived this long with a man like this in our midst; well I guess all of us hadn't after all.

"Democracy time, ya'll! All in favor? C'mon, show of hands! Let's see 'em!"

"Oh come on!" Andrea sighed.

"Up in the goddamn air!" He demanded again. Morales was the first to raise his hand. With a sigh I raised my own. Andrea, Glenn and T-Dog did too. My favorite was Jac's, always the rebel. She didn't only raise her hand but flipped the goddamn man the bird. "That makes me the boss, right? Yeah. Anybody else? Huh? Anybody?"

"Yeah. Me." Rick replied crossly, hitting him across the face with the rifle Merle had discarded. My eyes widened as Rick bent down and put his knee on Merle's head to keep him from moving, then removed a pair of cuffs from his belt, securing him to the nearby pipe.

"Not too bad there, Officer." I commented, raising my eyebrow at him as he took a step back. He nodded his head in my direction to acknowledge he had heard me before staring down at Merle; somehow I felt like we were in for a lecture here.

"Who the hell are you man!" Merle demanded.

"Officer Friendly!" Rick snapped back, picking him up by the shitty vest Merle wore and slamming him against the pipe.

"Look here, Merle," Rick began, reaching over and grabbing the pistol Merle had dropped and then unloading the clip. "Things aren't the same now. There are now niggers now. No dumb shit inbred Redneck fucks. No woman that you refer to as _bitches_. Only dark meat and white meat. That's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling _together_, not apart."

"Screw you, man." Merle responded, bitchy as ever.

"I can see you make a habit of missing the point." Rick commented crossly.

"Yeah? Well screw you twice."

"Ought to be polite to the man with the gun. Only common sense." Rick returned, aiming the gun at Merle's temple threateningly. I couldn't believe the balls on this man; not only had he handcuffed the bastard but he was also using his words against him. Where had this man been all my life?

"You wouldn't. You're a cop." Merle stated cockily.

"All I am anymore is a man looking for his wife and son." Rick replied. His wife and son, huh? That was interesting. That must be why he got so uppity about the refugee center. If there was a chance his family was alive I highly doubted they'd be there.

"Anybody gets in the way of that is gonna lose. I'll give you a moment to think about that." Rick continued as he rifled through Merle's pockets, it wasn't long before he found the vile of white powder. I wasn't too surprised he had it on him; he had been lookin' perpetually tweaked all damn day.

"You got some on your nose there." Rick said shaking his head and flicking the man's nose.

"What are you gonna do? Arrest me?" Merle laughed before sobering quickly – Rick was inches away from dropping the vial off the side of the roof. "Hey! What're you doin'? You just threw away my shit!" Indeed he had; Rick was a noble man indeed. Whatever the fuck Merle had had on him today was now powder in the air. "If I get lose you better pray! You hear me, pig!"

"Of course he fuckin' hears you! Your goddamn voice carries, so shut up!" I hissed rolling my eyes, after watching Rick handle him I felt just a little vindicated in the situation. If even just a little bit. It's not like he didn't have one big ass stash somewhere back at the camp. Fuck, wouldn't be surprised if he had more shit stowed away in the duffel he had dragged along with him. "Your ass just got handed to you; get the fuck over it."

"You better shut your mouth lil' girl before I shut it for you!" Merle seethed, twisting awkwardly to look at me. My mouth went dry and I took an uncomfortable step back as he struggled in vain to get to me. He was still cuffed to the rather stable element of the roof but the fact that he probably knew more tricks to get outta them than not made me uneasy as his returned attention.

"You're not Atlanta PD. Where are you from?" Morales asked, trailing after Rick to the opposite side of the roof. My eyes drifted after them carefully as I tried to overhear them; between T-Dog's moaning and Merle's moaning it was no easy feat.

"Up the ways some." Rick replied.

"Well Officer Friendly, from up the ways some. Welcome to Atlanta."

"The vacation you wish you never had." I quipped from behind them; Morales glanced over his shoulder at me with a miniscule smile and nodded in agreement. "Just don't let the locals get too close."

"My God, it's like Times Square down there!" Andrea gasped, looking over the side of the roof. What a horribly accurate analogy.

Keeping my distance from everyone I remained standing on the lift, my arms crossed and a few feet behind Glenn who was sitting on the steps. Everyone else was scattered across the side of the building looking over what may or may not be our inevitable fate for the day. Out of all of them I was keeping a close eye on Rick and Merle – the latter having been suspiciously quiet for the past few minutes, I didn't know what he was up to if it was anything but it was makin' me fuckin' nervous none the less.

"How's that signal on that thing?" Morales asked, glancing down to T-Dog who sat leaning up against the wall, CB in his hands and uselessly fiddling with it. Not only would the fucked up weather I could sense be messin' with the signals, but I sorta doubted that the radio back at the camp would even pick anything up. It was Shane's and well, I think the only reason he had it sittin' around was to give everyone a false sense of hope. Only thing I ever heard comin' from that goddamn thing was static. Fuck, I was surprised the radios he sent us in with this time were actually workin' if we wanted to get technical.

"Like Dixon's brain; weak." T-Dog replied with a smirk. Merle flipped him the bird in response. Though it wasn't the good news we wanted, it was still a shade of fuckin' funny.

"Keep trying." Morales advised.

"Why? There's nothing they can do for us, not one damn thing." Andrea commented, shaking her head at him. Apparently she was still on the 'we're all gonna die because of you, dumbass' bandwagon. Lovely optimism she had, really. I wish we'd have left the bitch back at camp. Fuck.

"Got some people outside of the city is all. There's no refugee center; that was a pipe dream." Morales said, explaining to Rick the fucked up situation we were partially sinking into.

"Still, might be nice if they know if we're dead or alive." I called out to Morales. "'Sides, if I die here I'm makin' sure Dale ain't stealin' parts from my baby for the sorry ass Winnebago!"

"Then she's right. We're on our own. We need to find a way out." Rick told us; he had that damn voice of authority Shane had leaking more and more into his voice the more he talked. Only with him it actually worked. He'd be givin' Shane one goddamn run for his money, that much was sure.

"Good luck with that. These streets ain't safe in this part of time from what I hear. Ain't that right, sugar tits?" Merle commented, glancing back over to me at the end. I tried not to pay him any heed and kept my eyes straight ahead at the skyline. I needed to focus on staying alive first and foremost. Even if that was turning out hard to focus on with Dixon on my ass constantly.

Turning to Andrea at my lack of attention Merle tried another tactic. "Hey honeybuns, why don't you unlock me and then we can run off and have some fun, huh? Gonna die anyway."

"I'd rather." Andrea replied, zipping up the pack I had thrown at her earlier.

"Rug muncher, ain't ya? Figured as much. I still got sugar tits though, don't I? She'll unlock me anytime now. You see; we got a connection."

Gritting my teeth together, "Just shut the fuck up would ya, Merle! We don't want to hear your fuckin' bullshit!" My heart sunk at the smirk he gave me, I was just givin' him the attention he wanted from me. The goat he was tryin' to get. Fuckin' asshole.

"See, she _loves_ me." Merle jeered at me.

"Leave her alone, Dixon!" T-Dog threatened looking up from the CB, his eyes narrowing in on the man that sat across from him. I didn't really think T-Dog getting into another lil' spat with the Dixon would be too good of an idea, after all just look at what Merle had done to him in a matter of minutes. T-Dog may have had an advantage now if it came down to it, but the thought of seeing Dixon get even another punch in to T-Dog's face made my stomach turn.

Completely ignoring Merle, Morales and Rick began to plot out a plan for our escape. "The streets aren't safe." Rick started.

"Now there's an understatement." Morales interrupted.

"What about _under_ the streets? The sewers?"

"Oh man!" Morales gasped, appeased by the idea. "Hey Glenn, check the alley. Do you see any manhole covers?"

Sighing I stepped out of Glenn's way as crossed the lift to the other side of the building, looking over the side I didn't figure he saw anything but trash, the two Geeks we had left down there and solid asphalt. "No. They must be all in the streets; with the Geeks."

Glancing at Jacqui, "There should be somethin' under the building though, right Jac?" When I had first moved to Atlanta and after makin' friends with Ray, Jacqui had taken me around the whole damn city pointin' out useless ass facts about the different buildings and what was underneath them. She had worked in the city zoning office before and had been in charge of shit like that, so I figured if this was one of the buildings she had pointed out like I thought it was, and then well we might just be in luck.

"Yeah there should be. This building was built in the twenties than there should be drain tunnels underneath the building that let out into the sewers in case of flooding. Down in the subbasement." Jacqui replied.

"How do you know that?" Glenn asked suspiciously.

"It's my job. Or it _was_. I worked for the city zoning office." I couldn't help but grin at her; useless knowledge suddenly turned real fuckin' useful.

Morales, Glenn, Jacqui, Andrea and Rick headed down to the subbasement to check it out. I remained on the roof with T-Dog. I didn't particularly enjoy the idea of going down to the basement; Glenn and I had scoped it out once or twice before. We hadn't ever necessarily gone down the hole but now that I knew where I led I wasn't too anxious to get that merit badge.

Besides, I figured the racist bigot and T-Dog shouldn't be left alone. I might not be too much help when it came to actually helping myself but I figured with Merle cuffed to the pipe even I could hit the motherfucker with the frying pan and be done with it.

"Hey sugar tits, you tell your nigger here what kinda fun we had last night?" Merle goaded after an unsuccessful attempt to get T-Dog to get him that hacksaw that sat over in the tool bag.

"Don't know what the fuck you're talkin' about, Dixon." I replied crossly, taking the seat on the steps that Glenn had previously had. I was trying hard to play cool. If I reacted that'd only give him what he wanted here and it would only cause trouble. We were almost home free; I didn't need to pay him any attention. Too bad T-Dog didn't share my thoughts on the matter.

"C'mon, baby, don't lie. It was a real good time!"

"What the fuck are you talkin' 'bout?" T-Dog demanded in my defense, looking up from the radio and pausing whatever efforts he had been making to reach the camp. No matter how useless I found those efforts to be I preferred he stuck to them instead of listening to Merle spout off. How little would these people think of me after they hear that lil pearl? Huh? Just confirming their own damn conclusions, but still.

"Ignore him. He's a fuck up."

"More like a _fucked you_." Merle snickered in my direction.

Glancing between us suspiciously, T-Dog snapped his fingers to get my attention. Sighing quietly I met his gaze. "Did he do somethin' to you? Is that why you're so fuckin' jumpy today?"

"He didn't do anythin'. He's just fuckin' with us. Ignore him." I pleaded, my eyes growing glossy as Merle began laughing at the two of us. I didn't want T-Dog to know. Fuck, I didn't want _anyone_ to know. It was the dirtiest mark on my not too flawless existence.

T-Dog was better at reading between the lines than I had thought him to be, and at my reaction jumped to the worse possible conclusion which ironically enough was the most accurate. "What'd he do, Em?"

I didn't want to think about it, talk about it. I wanted to forget the entire thing. I wanted to be locked up in that apartment with Bo again. It wasn't safe out here and when Bo had always told me that I hadn't taken him all that seriously. Sure, dead walkin', no big fuckin' deal. 'It's human nature that's the darkest when society crumbles,' Bo had always told me. Again, something I hadn't paid much attention to. I had survived just fine in those regards before so I figured it'd be no effort now either. How wrong I had been. How much I wished Bo had been there to protect me; Merle woulda been dead before a finger touched me.

"Fucked her before my brother had the chance, that's what _I _did." Merle piped up, with a heavy smirk on his lips as he looked at me. Making demands for me to look back; something I refused to do. I needed to remain calm. I needed to remain passive. I needed to keep breathing; inhale, exhale. I needed to stop the tears from falling. I needed-

"Don't fuckin' touch me!" I screamed shoving away from T-Dog roughly and what would've been a comforting touch in any other situation. My hands landed painfully on the grate that was the lift, and my breathing became uneven as T-Dog backed away from my carefully, his hands up in non-threatening way. Merle chortled from the side at my reaction.

"I ain't gonna hurt you, Em."

Shaking my head at him I backed further away before shoving myself to my feet. "Just keep tryin' the damn radio."

"Em-"

"The radio, T-Dog!" I huffed turning away from them and crossing to the other side of the roof. I could hear T-Dog's audible sigh before he started trying to reach the camp again. I tried desperately to ignore Merle calling out to me in the rudest possible way. I kept taking the deepest breaths possible and letting them out slowly, I had to calm down. We'd be running through sewers soon and that was gonna be hard enough without me hyperventilating.

"Well, the sewers a bust." Rick told us as they banged open the roof door, the group funneling back up and over to the side of the roof. Sighing I ran a hand through my hair, well fuck.

"What was down there?" I asked carefully to Glenn who looked more shaken than usual.

"Geeks eating _rats_." He seemed more disgusted by the fact that they were eatin' rats rather than that there was Geeks down there. I was happy in that second that we'd never taken the risk and gone down there and investigated before.

"That construction site. Those trucks. They always keep keys on hand." Rick commented, handing the pair of binoculars down to Morales. Leaning against the roof behind Jacqui I could spot the truck in question without too much help; it was real far away though. I wasn't sure how Officer Friendly here thought that we'd be able to get all the way over _there_ from here. Few blocks at least.

"We'll never make it past the Walkers." Morales stated, shaking his head. Finally someone voicing my concern.

"You two got me outta that tank." Rick said, looking at Glenn and me.

"Yeah, but they were feeding. Distracted." Glenn returned, shaking his head.

"And it was stupid enough trying to do it _then_." I added with a frown.

"Could you distract them again?" Rick asked. Only if we wanted to die that much quicker, I thought sardonically.

"Right! He's on to somethin'. A diversion. Like in Hogan's Heroes." Merle interrupted, all of our eyes impatiently went to him.

"Just give it a rest." Jacqui snapped at the man.

"They're drawn to sound, right?" Rick questioned. I could already tell that I wasn't going to like this plan. Not one fuckin' bit.

"Right! Like dogs; they hear sound, they come." Glenn agreed.

"What else?"

"Aside from hearing, they see you. Smell you. And then if they catch you, they eat you." Morales added.

"They can tell us by smell?" Rick asked, surprised.

"Can't you?" Glenn queried right back.

"They smell dead, we sorta don't." I answered Rick. He seemed even more thoughtful and glanced around.

"Let's go back downstairs. I have an idea." Rick stated, quickly moving around the roof and back to the grate.

I was so not interested in what that idea was goin' to be. By the look in Morales eyes, he didn't like whatever vibe he had picked up either, but he did trail after Rick just like the rest of them did. With a sigh I couldn't decide if I wanted to stay up here and deal with this fucker or if I wanted to go back down and see what Rick's grand plan was. Neither of the two choices sounded to kosher to me, but finally I followed Jacqui back over to the door.

"C'mon T-Dog." I demanded, looking over my shoulder. Neither of us should be stuck up here with dumb fuck Dixon. With a grunt he shoved himself back up to his feet and followed me down the stairs back to the main floor.

"If bad ideas were an Olympic event; this would take the gold." Glenn sighed as Rick grabbed a handful of rubber kitchen gloves from the rack and started passing them out between us.

"He's right. Just stop, okay? Take some time and think this through." Morales added, following after Rick as he moved to a rack of grey fabric jackets.

They were both so fuckin' true. This was a bad fuckin' idea and if I didn't want to actually die with a lil' more class than this I'd probably disagree to dragging one of the dead Geeks back into the building, hack the motherfucker up and then where it's fuckin' guts. 'Cause really, that's as classy as a bitch can get.

"How much time? They already got through one set of doors; that glass won't hold forever." Rick replied, adamant about his rather horrific plan. Though his logic was sound and it silence the lot of us as we shoved our hands into the gloves and pulled the jackets up over our clothing.

Once we were in the back room, Rick, Glenn and Morales opened the back door. Morales and Rick rushed out to grab the Geek from where it had fallen. The two Geeks on the other side of the alley noticed them and began lumbering over, but Morales and Rick dragged the body in before they could get too close for comfort.

Next, Rick broke open the glass that protected the fire axe from the outside world with a crowbar. With a mask on his face he made to start hackin' the body up, all of us turned away at the motion. But he withdrew it at the last second with a shaky breath. Dropping the axe to the floor he bent down and rummaged through his pockets until he found the man's wallet.

"Wayne Dunlap. Georgia license. Born 1979." Rick read off from the plastic before passing it off to Glenn who read it with earnest. "He had twenty eight dollars in his pockets when he died and a picture of a pretty girl; with love, from Rachel. He used to be liked us, worried about bills, the rent, super bowl. If ever find my family I'm gonna tell them about Wayne."

"One more thing, he was an organ donor." Glenn added, glancing between all of us as Rick put the mask back on and picked his axe back up. Now for the real fun. This was goin' to be hard to watch, even if in his current state he was a Walker. Rick had had a point, he had been human once just like us. He'd lived and breathed and worried about the same fuckin' shit. It was sad that he had to walk around like that for so goddamn long; it was sad that all those people were trapped here like that.

With one heavy swing Rick hit the body right in the back, causing gasps from each of us. Over and over again he swing into the body before it was completely decapitated, limbs no longer attached and the insides on the out. The smell was getting more repugnant by the second and once Rick had had enough he passed the axe and mask to Morales, "Keep chopping." He told him. By the look on Morales' face he didn't look too pleased with the delegation.

"Everybody got gloves?" Rick asked after Morales had finished the job. "Don't get any on your skin or in your eyes." Taking a deep breath he was the first to bend down and dig his hands into the Geeks stomach, it wasn't long before the rest of us were following his direction. Rubbing it over him and Glenn we made special care for it to not touch either of their bodies, jut the already horribly colored jackets.

"Oh geez. This is bad. Really bad." Glenn moaned as I began wrapping the man's long piece of intestine around his body. I felt bad for him, really bad. If the smell wasn't bad enough when it wasn't on you, how fuckin' toxic was it when it was on you? I was glad I wouldn't be findin' out any time soon. Wearin' a jacket made out of insides really wasn't on my bucket list.

"Think about something else. Puppies and kittens." Rick suggested.

"Dead puppies and kittens." T-Dog commented cryptically. I would've slapped him on the head if I wasn't covered in thick, goopy, insides. That was what caused Glenn to upchuck, whatever little food he had eaten was then promptly given to the floor. With a sour look I glanced at T-Dog and shook my head, nasty ass shit.

"What is wrong with you?" Andrea demanded.

"Next time let the cracker beat his ass." Jacqui commented to Rick, givin' T-Dog the stink eye.

"I'm sorry, yo." T-Dog finally apologized.

"You suck." Glenn gasped, bent over at the waist.

"Do we smell like them?" Rick asked.

"Oh yeah." Andrea replied.

"Glenn, here, just in case." I said softly after I had removed a glove from my right hand, taking my pistol out from the back of my Levi's. He looked at me with wide eyes, "You'll be fine, but I don't want you to just have that crowbar." He tried to give me a smile as I shoved the piece of metal into the front of the pants.

"When we get back – be ready." Rick commanded.

"What about Merle Dixon?" T-Dog asked angrily, glancing at me with a look that I wasn't familiar with. It made me uneasy. Taking off one of his gloves, Rick reach down into his side pocket and produced the pair of keys, passing them to T-Dog.

"Gimme the axe." Rick told Morales as he pulled his glove back on. We all looked at him confused. "We need more guts." He explained, raising the axe up over his head and back down onto the body. Andrea gasped as he did and all I could do was take a step back and shake my head. I was glad I didn't have a weak stomach.

It was when Glenn and Rick were entirely covered, with feet and hands hanging from their feet did they finally go out into the alley. I prayed to whatever being there may or may not be that Glenn would get out of this just fine as I closed the door behind them. Now all there was to do was to wait. I was never good at waiting.

We all made the mad rush to the roof; to watch their progress. The moment we were there Merle was demanding to know what was happening. Morales ignored the idiot and continued to rush to the side of the building, "T-Dog, try the CB again."

"Hey, ya'll! Talk to me!" Merle demanded.

"Hello, base camp! This is T-Dog, can anybody hear me?" T-Dog spoke loudly and clearly into the CB, praying for a response from the other side. Morales had the binoculars and was looking down below. I strained my eyes to pick out Glenn and Rick; sure enough there they were lumbering around like the Geeks. Right in the middle of enemy territory.

As the thunder rumbled overhead I glanced at Morales, "Better pray it doesn't rain."

"That assholes on the street with the handcuff keys?" Merle asked over me, loudly and completely aghast at the very thought. I rolled my eyes; just because he was a fuck up didn't mean everyone else automatically was too. T-Dog pulled the little key from his pocket and waved it around, by the look on Merle's face he figured he was fucked and ya know what? Maybe he was.

"Receptions bad on this end. Repeat, repeat." Echoed over the radio, immediately all eyes were on T-Dog and the CB. I couldn't believe that piece of shit actually worked!

"Shane, man, is that you?" T-Dog asked in a panic; I knew that voice though. It was Dale, not Shane. "We're trapped in the department store, man. Geeks all over the place, hundreds of 'em." There was silence. I didn't expect any less. Hearing we were trapped meant we were lost causes. Shane wouldn't risk the rest of the camp to save our sorry asses; that was a given. We were fucked if this plan didn't work. That much was for sure.

"Dammit!" T-Dog muttered.

"Just relax." I demanded, shaking my head. "We got somethin' workin' now. So just chill."

"They're doin' pretty goo-" Morales had started, but then the thing we'd all be hoping wouldn't happen, happened. Rain. "It'll pass real quickly." Morales tried to justify.

"Yeah, let's keep tellin' ourselves that." I muttered turning away from the view of the street.

"Oh god!" Jacqui gasped. Yup, close to bein' fucked.

"They made it!" Morales laughed, completely amazed by the very idea. Scoffing in disbelief I turned back around, sure enough there was a truck driving around down there now. But in the wrong direction!

"They're leavin' us!" Andrea gasped.

"No, no!" Morales defended.

"They're what!" Merle shouted in outrage from behind us.

"Glenn wouldn't leave us; give 'em a second." I demanded of them, roughly grabbing the binoculars from Morales and trying to spot the construction truck on the street.

"Those roll up doors on the street. Meet us there. Be ready!" Glenn's voice crackled over the CB and I smirked.

"See!" I grinned.

"Alright, let's get down there!" Morales commanded, turning on is heel and grabbing his pack. Jacqui and Andrea followed suit. T-Dog and I were making a mad dash to grab everything else and it was becoming hard to focus with Merle's persistent yelling.

"No, no, man! You can't just leave me here!" Merle demanded, watching them flee towards the stairs.

"C'mon you two, we gotta go!" Morales shouted from the door looking back at the two of us.

"Up to you, Em." T-Dog muttered to me, as we stood on the lift.

"Don't you dare leave me here, bitch!" Merle screamed at us in a fit.

"Don't."

"You can't do this to me! It ain't human!" Merle shouted, trying to persuade us to save him. He had a point and I hated it. Even if he had raped me not even twenty-four hours ago he was still human and well, my momma and daddy raised a better person than that. Besides, T-Dog was lookin' iffy at the decision as Merle's pleads for life increased.

"Just do it!" I huffed, taking his bags from him in annoyance. Goddamn conscience got you every fuckin' time.

But in his rush, he tripped over the tool chest we had dragged along with us, sending it flying out everywhere. After his foot collided with that he was completely off balance and barely made it off the steps. Once his feet his the puddle at the base of the steps he went flying out, the key escaping his grasp and flying easily through the air until it circled the water drain on the roof. Both T-Dog and Merle reached out for it, but it was all in vain. The key was lost. Merle was stuck here.

"Fuck!" T-Dog cursed.

"You son of a bitch! You did that on purpose!" Merle accused harshly.

"I didn't!" T-Dog defended himself, struggling to his feet.

Shaking my head at them I couldn't believe the luck. This was definitely a message from God; how could it not be? Karma at its finest. "This is karma takin' you as its bitch, Dixon. Hope you enjoy the ass fuckin' just like I enjoyed you!" I spat, grabbing ahold of T-Dog's arm and towing him behind me. We didn't have goddamn time for this nonsense.

"Don't leave me! Please!" Merle begged.

"Shoulda thought of that before." I called over to him, holding the door open as T-Dog struggled inside. "Key didn't go down the drain, ass fuck."

His eyes widened as he glanced over to the drain, if you squinted you and tilted your head just right, you could still see the slight glint of the key in the sunlight. "I hope somethin' eats your sorry ass." I grinned, slamming the door shut behind me. I had to be quick now if I wanted to catch up with everyone else.

"That for real?" T-Dog asked as he secured the door with chains. Was it for real? Yes. But was I gonna tell T-Dog that truth? Fuck no. He may have hated Merle like I do, but fuck, this was gonna eat at his conscience as it was. He looked at me skeptically, but as he secured the padlock on the chains he nodded his head in acceptance. Then the two of us were tearing down the stairs.

We slid into the loading room at just the last second. Andrea had a funny look on her face and once I could actually listen for something other than my heart pounding in my ears I heard the reason why. A car alarm was goin' off at full blast. "What is that?" She asked.

"That's a fuckin' diversion." I laughed softly.

A moment later there were two bangs on the metal rolling doors, quickly we rolled them up and clambered into the back of the truck. Pulling away from the loading dock we almost got nicked by a group of Geeks that had gotten into the store already. Quickly, Morales slammed the door shut. Sighing in relief we all leaned up against something and tried to calm down; that had been a fuckin' close one.

It wasn't until we were a few blocks away did anyone question where Merle was. Though it was a silent question, poor T-Dog picked up on it. "I dropped the damn key." Everyone was on edge, but out of all the people it'd be alright to leave behind Merle was at the top of that list. No one questioned it any further and for T-Dog's sake I was grateful.

Finally glancing around, I noticed Glenn was nowhere to be found. Frowning I looked to Rick, but Andrea beat me to the question. "Where's Glenn?"

Realizing where the noise had been coming from I laughed, "Glenn's on an adrenaline rush." Leaning my head back against the wall of the truck I grinned and took an easy breathe knowing Glenn was as safe as he could be in a loud ass car. I'm sure Shane would have one fuckin' fit when he rode up to camp with that lil' gem ringin' through the hills. Maybe it'd distract just enough from the newbie and the missin' Dixon. Maybe. "Lucky fuckin' bastard."

"Best not to dwell on it. Merle got left behind. Ain't nobody gonna be upset about it aside from Daryl." Morales commented to Rick after we had gotten out of the city. Rick seemed just as pensive about it as T-Dog did, fuck; everyone was worried about it besides me. At this point I was just reveling in Karma biting the ass of the man that raped me. I wasn't worried about Daryl and I sure as fuck wasn't worried about how anyone else was gonna react to it. Merle bein' gone was a gift from God.

"Daryl?" Rick questioned, the name being foreign and un-forboding to the man.

"His brother." Morales replied. Then Glenn popped up in what looked like a brand new red Dodge Charger, he passed us easily waving his hand out the driver's window in the process. "At least someone's having a good day."

"Fuck yeah!" I called from the far back in jealously. Being cooped up in this damn truck was startin' to get to me.

"Come on. Meet everybody." Morales insisted to Rick as we pulled into camp. Peeking up through the front windshield I could see Glenn and his lil' red car, not too far away was Shane with a stern expression on his face. Damn shame I was missin' that. I was the one that normally got my ass chewed up by him.

Once the van was to a complete stop Morales was quick to remove himself from the front seat; I'm sure he was desperate to see his kids. T-Dog rolled the back up the van up and Andrea was quick to dart out and around to find her sister. It must've been nice sometimes to have actual family always there waiting for you when you came back. Real nice to not be alone.

Following after Jacqui and Andrea, I stopped beside Glenn as I listened to the elated family greetings being passed around. Glancing over to Carl and his mother I noticed the crestfallen look on the boy's face. He was still affected by the loss of his father no matter how much Shane tried to fix it with his lil' lessons here and there about the most useless shit a boy could know.

"How'd you get out of there anyway?" Shane inquired, glancing suspiciously between Glenn and me. Like I had said before; it was always my fault. Only this time I had a new face to blame it on, thankfully.

"New guy. Got us out." Glenn replied.

"New guy, huh?"

"Yeah, he's actually pretty crazy." I quipped with a lazy smile; no matter how crazy Rick was actually a pretty solid guy.

"Real crazy," Morales laughed his wife on one side and his little girl on the other. "Come on Helicopter, come out and say hello!" He urged, patting his son on the head as he darted around his legs. "The guys a cop; like you." Morales said to Shane.

Now what happened next, none of us were expecting. It was like a scene from one of those cheesy romance flicks where the heroine and hero are finally united after being apart for so long. It was like when a solider getting back from Iraq finally gets to meet his kid for the first time. It was like when you go away to college and come back for Christmas break, the happiness and the sadness all rolled into one when you finally see someone you've been missing. It was powerful and overwhelming.

Carl went running towards Rick, screaming happily. "Dad! Dad!" Lori was quick on his heels and once Carl was within arm's reach, Rick swept him up into his arms. Tears pricked the back of my eyes as I glanced from the scene unfolding to Shane; he looked happy but put out at the same time. Maybe my first observation about Carl's sketchy story had been right. Maybe Shane wasn't as great as a guy as everyone else in camp tried to make him out to be. The look shared between him and Lori did not go unnoticed by much of the camp.

Well, it looked like Rick had found the family he was looking for. The thought made me jealous.


	11. Ten

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Ohhhh hello there again my dolls! :) I'm obviously keeping my muse hostage as this is the THIRD installment in a week. I don't know whether to be impressed or worried haha. ;) I can't believe we've made it to TEN installments! When I first started writing I didn't even think three people would like this, so thank you guys so much! :)))))

I forgot to mention this in the last one, but I think it's pretty cool. Emmy's story is included in 'The Best of Daryl Dixon' community! How cool is that? xD

This chapter is INTENSE! The second scene that really got me inspired to write Emmy's story is included in this one and I'm happy it fit so seamlessly into the episode. I'm really happy with it and I hope you dolls are too!

So much thank you's to melodytaylor85, Comidia Del Arte, Dalonega Noquisi, Hazardous Hollz and Indigo for leaving me reviews! :) I can't believe how quick some of you dolls are at that; cause DAMN! Haha. Now, gratzi to BeatlesChick and Hazardous Hollz for adding this to their alerts! Love, love love you! :) Mucho gratitude to kschu02, legally-insane93 and Hazardous Hollz for adding this to their favs! Looooove all of you so fucking much; like you can't even begin to comprehend!

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>All around me are familiar faces<br>Worn out places, worn out faces  
>Bright and early for their daily races<br>Going nowhere, going nowhere  
>Their tears are filling up their glasses<br>No expression, no expression  
>Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow<br>No tomorrow, no tomorrow_

_And I find it kinda funny_  
><em>I find it kinda sad<em>  
><em>The dreams in which I'm dying<em>  
><em>Are the best I've ever had<em>  
><em>I find it hard to tell you<em>  
><em>I find it hard to take<em>  
><em>When people run in circles<em>  
><em>It's a very, very mad world mad world<em>

_Children waiting for the day they feel good_  
><em>Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday<em>  
><em>And I feel the way that every child should<em>  
><em>Sit and listen, sit and listen<em>  
><em>Went to school and I was very nervous<em>  
><em>No one knew me, no one knew me<em>  
><em>Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson<em>  
><em>Look right through me, look right through me<em>

_And I find it kinda funny  
>I find it kinda sad<br>The dreams in which I'm dying  
>Are the best I've ever had<br>I find it hard to tell you  
>I find it hard to take<br>When people run in circles  
>It's a very, very mad world <em>

_Mad World by Gary Jules_

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><p><strong>Ten<strong>

Later that night, after everyone had gotten resettled into the camp, the group of us sat around the campfire. As per the usual of the past month, Ed, Sophia, and Carol were a little ways away piled around their own fire. I didn't like the way he was distancing the two of them farther and farther away from the rest of the camp but there wasn't too much you could do if Carol wouldn't speak up for herself in the first place.

Rick was telling us his story of what had happened after he had woken up in that hospital bed. I could tell by the way he kept stopping himself short that he wasn't giving us the full version of the tale, but tonight, after everything I couldn't be too bothered by whatever secrets he may have been hiding. Carl was finally happy, and Shane had been knocked down a few pegs by the man's arrival so I wouldn't question him too much just yet. Besides, he reminded me of Missouri and if I had any say in it, that made Rick a step above everyone else in this damn place.

At the end of Rick's story, I could see from my seat around the fire and between Dale and T-Dog that Ed was throwing another log onto the fire. Now, if you went by the rules that the law around these parts – Shane – had set up for us lowly citizens to follow, you didn't do shit like that. You kept the fire low so we weren't noticed, and well that added log wasn't within regulation rules.

Shane was quick to remedy the situation and was over there reprimanding the abuser within minutes of noticing what he was doing. Once it was solved he swaggered back over to his seat, bloated again now that he had gotten his way.

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon? He won't be too happy to find that his brother was left behind." Dale asked, eyes directed on Shane.

Well good, I didn't want to be the key keeper to that decision. I had figured given the way that the camp seemed to think the Dixon's owned me that it would be delegated down to me, but somehow I wasn't too surprised that it was going over my head. T-Dog has disappeared into the Winnebago with Dale not too long after we had gotten back and for quite a while the two of them had been in there. The way they had been looking at me since gave me the impression that things T-Dog didn't have the right to share; had been shared.

"I'll tell 'im. I dropped the key. It's on me." T-Dog stated, looking down. He was still torn up about leavin' the bastard behind, somehow I wasn't. My soul didn't feel any colder and my heart didn't pound any harder. If anything, I was at peace. Merle Dixon was gonna die on that roof and that's all there was to it.

"I cuffed him. It's on me." Rick intervened; Lori looked up at him in annoyance. If Rick knew the Dixon's like the rest of us did I was nearly positive he wouldn't be volunteering to put his head on the chopping block like he was. I wasn't looking forward to that outburst. It wasn't goin' to be fun for any of us.

"Guys, it's not a competition. I don't mean to bring race into this but maybe coming from a white guy, it'd sound better. Like if Em or Rick told him. Safer, really." Glenn supplied. He had a valid point; I doubt Daryl would handle the news so well comin' from T-Dog. Not that he'd handle it any better coming from me or Rick. Merle was still left on that roof and that was the only goddamn point he was goin' to see.

"I did what I did. Hell if I'm gonna hide from it." T-Dog stated evenly. Well, good for him, I thought. If he wanted to get his ass shot, I wasn't gonna get my ass in the way. Daryl had some mean ass aim and I didn't plan on bein' on the wrong side of it anytime soon if I could help it.

"We could lie." Amy suggested. Nice one, that'd get us far. Was getting me in the right direction, so I figured why the fuck not.

"Or we could tell the truth. Merle was out of control; something had to be done or he was going to get us all killed. Your husband did the right thing. And if Merle got left behind, than it's nobody's fault but Merles." Andrea added, looking to Lori especially at the point about Rick and his good choices. Well shit, she had a point. A voice of reason for once in her life.

"And that's what we tell Daryl?" Dale asked uncertainly, by the look on his face he wasn't too agreeable with the idea. "I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you? Word from the wise; we're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt."

"I was scared, I panicked and I ran. I'm not ashamed of it." T-Dog admitted, looking around at everyone.

"We were all scared. We all ran. What's your point?" Andrea asked, annoyed.

"We stopped long enough to chain up that door, right, Em?" Sighing, I nodded my head for T-Dog's point. We had chained that door, hadn't been the best job and in hindsight it had probably saved his ass, so it wasn't that good of a choice. But we had and for some reason T-Dog thought that this was worth acknowledging.

"It's a narrow hall. Maybe twelve Geeks can squeeze in there at a time. Nothin' that could break that chain, break that lock. So my point is that Dixon's alive and he's handcuffed on that roof. That's on us." My eyes squeezed shut after T-Dog had made his point and moved away from the fire off to his tent. Of course he was alive, the fuckin' bastard. Why could I ever have a stroke of good luck? Why hadn't I actually thought it through before I let T-Dog chain that door? I was this close to being rid of him, this close to actually being safe and I let something like that happen. _Stupid_.

"What was that supposed to be? A bigger guilt trip?" Andrea snapped with a huff.

"He's feelin' a lil' goddamn guilty, okay? Give the man some slack." I muttered, shaking my head in annoyance.

Maybe I should just tell T-Dog that it was my fault not his. I had obviously seen the key while he hadn't, so the fault he felt obviously rested on my shoulders. It was cruel to leave that resting on T-Dog, but it felt good to know someone else was in pain like I was. Someone else was crushed over something that happened. It made me feel human again and I didn't know if I wanted to let go of that feeling just yet.

"Whatever. C'mon, Amy." Andrea grumbled, raising to her feet and tugging her little sister up with her. As per usual she dragged her all the way back to the Winnebago without a word. Bitch really didn't like gettin' her way. I wondered for a second if that made me a hypocrite but quickly dispensed the idea.

"I left my watch down at the lake, come with me and get it, Emmy?" Dale asked, standing swiftly from his seat. Frowning up at him in confusion I glanced to his wrist where the watch clearly sat and his face which was as innocent as could be. No one else noticed the discrepancy in his story and so with a deep breath I nodded my head. What could the man possibly want?

On the walk down to the lake, Dale was suspiciously quiet. It left the hair on my arms standing on end and for a panic to shift into my chest that I didn't think would be possible while in the company of someone I actually trusted. Every step we took getting farther from the lights of the camp put me that much further into a state of unease. The noises I heard coming from the woods around us made me jump slightly each time.

"I know you have your watch…" I said with a sigh, trailing off after the silence from him had become unbearable. I had never known Dale to be particularly quiet. He was quiet at times, but not always and not in such a way that made you nervous. It was like waiting for a stop on a train, and the longer and longer you waited and didn't hear your stop called out, you begin to wonder if you're going the right way or are you lost? It was an unsettling feeling and I wanted it to stop.

"I know it isn't my place, Emily, but T-Dog divulged me to some knowledge this afternoon."

Of course he did. I knew he had; I could feel the ungraceful truth passing between lips. I could feel the disgust they must have had for me. I could just feel _it_. Radiating from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. It hurt and ached and made me sicker than I had been this morning. I wanted it to stop and go away, I didn't want to talk to him about it and I didn't want him to know about it. It was horrible enough for me to know about it.

"It's alright, Emily. I'm not judging you. I just want to make sure you're all right. Being raped is a traumatic event. You shouldn't be left to deal with it by yourself." Dale said softly, gently. His hand moved out to touch me on the shoulder but I flinched away. I didn't want anyone's goddamn pity. All I wanted was to forget and I doubted Dale could give me that luxury.

"I'm doin' just fine by myself, thanks." I sniffed indignantly, trying to avoid making eye contact with the man. I knew deep down that he was just trying to help, but I was at the point that I didn't want it. I didn't even want to accept it, so why the fuck would I want help? If he wanted to really help me he could go back into the city and make sure Dixon was five ways past dead. But I doubted he'd help me _that_ way.

"C'mon, Emily," Dale pleaded. "Just admit it; it'll make you feel better." How did he really think admitting it to the world would make me feel better? Was he completely fuckin' insane or what? There was no way in hell tellin' the world that was gonna make me feel better. No fuckin way.

I shook my head at him in disbelief, "How will admitting that a fuckin' backwards inbred redneck fuck, snuck into my goddamn tent in the middle of the goddamn night and raped me, make me feel any damn peachier? Huh, Dale! Tell me, 'cause on my end that just pissed me off _more._"

"Emily…" Dale trailed off uncertainly.

I just wanted to be left alone. I just wanted him to walk away and leave me alone. Why couldn't he just understand that? Why the fuck did I want to talk about it?

"Exactly; not makin' any of us happier, is it?"

"I know you're upset and hurt, but he's gone now. He can't hurt you again. You need to realize that and talk it out." Dale continued, goading me into being open and shit.

What was he? My goddamn psychiatrist? I knew he was gone and couldn't hurt me at the present moment but who the fuck says he doesn't get himself outta those goddamn cuffs and come back for me? He'd been after me before but now, well now I had just signed his goddamn death warrant. What would he be doin' to be after _that_? 'Cause I didn't believe he was gone for good until I saw his rotting corpse on that goddamn roof.

"It's nice how you think talkin' about it will help me; but it won't. Nothing is goin' to fix this." I explained, my voice cracking slightly at the end.

"It's only going to get worse up there in your head then. Going to drive you completely mad. What do you think is going to happen when Daryl finds out, huh?"

"He's not going to _find out_. I know I don't plan on outing that goddamn secret and if you and T-Dog are smart enough, you won't open your damn mouths either." I stated harshly. I didn't want to think about what Daryl would think about me if he found out; I just didn't. It was hard enough having T-Dog look at me the way he did and the worried glances Dale had been givin' me all damn evening. I didn't want it. I could handle it on my own. I didn't need anyone to be my shoulder to fuckin' cry on.

Sighing Dale removed the fisher's hat from his head, glancing at me I began to feel more suspicious of him as we lapsed into a silence. "It's your choice then, I guess. But I'll be here if you do decide you want to talk." Why was he so fuckin' nosy? It wasn't any of his business. Why didn't he understand that?

"Whatever. Just don't spread it around." I muttered gruffly, tugging my arms around my body protectively. It was chiller down at the lake and all I had on was the thin tee I had thrown on this morning.

I wanted to go back to sleep so desperately but the more I thought about it I wasn't sure if I could crawl back into that tent or not. I'd have to decide soon, Shane was gonna be ringin' the curfew bell by the time I got dragged back up there.

"If that's what you want me to do." He agreed, nodding his head and replacing the hat on his head. "I am curious though; what do you plan on doing with Daryl? You two are friends or something, aren't you?"

I didn't know what I was going to do. I had figured I'd avoid him like the plague considering recent events. But the harder I thought on that plan of action the less I liked it. I actually liked Daryl; got along with him most of the time and actually understood where he was coming from when it came to hunting. I didn't want to lose whatever we had but I had a feeling he wouldn't be too happy with me himself when he came back to camp at some point. Not only had I been a part of the group that had left Merle, but I hadn't exactly helped him out of that sticky situation. I'd probably have another Merle on my hands pretty soon and the thought frightened me.

"I don't know. Just leave me alone." I sighed, shaking my head in annoyance. I didn't want to think about it anymore! It was making me physically ill the longer I stewed about it.

"Would you like to sleep in the Winnebago tonight?" I almost smiled; Dale was more attentive to my thoughts than I was at this point. It startled me. I would've taken him up on that offer if Andrea hadn't been one of three occupants of the house on wheels.

"No thank you." I finally muttered eyes firmly to the ground. I didn't enjoy the idea of the questions that would surely arise if I ended up agreeing to that arrangement. "Probably should head back. They'll probably think I killed you otherwise." He laughed lightly at the joke and nodded his head silently. I could still sense his assessing attitude towards me lingering in the air. All I could be happy about that he was being quiet about the matter now.

"Don't be upset with T-Dog for telling me. He's only trying to help you." Dale whispered to me as we reached the top. I knew he had a point but I felt betrayed none the less. It wasn't his information to share with anyone and it burned to the core that he had. I had thought he was someone I could trust but maybe I had been wrong. "Remember what I said, Emily."

"You find your watch, old man?" Glenn asked as we approached the camp fire.

Dale laughed heartily, "Didn't realize I had the damn thing on my wrist the whole time!" Glenn laughed himself and shook his head the silliness of the old man. Even Carl cracked a small smile in our direction; it was nice to see a genuinely happy smile comin' from the lil' guy.

It was funny, now that two of my closest friends knew I felt more alone now than I had before. How twisted was that? Maybe I did need to talk to someone, maybe it would make things a lil' better. It was hopeful thinking, and in the pit of my stomach I knew talking it out wouldn't help me anymore than keeping it bottled up inside. All I could hope for was to avoid the inevitable blowout Dale had been hinting would happen sooner rather than later.

* * *

><p>In the morning the camp was just a bustle of activity. I had seen Carol dart off with Rick's uniform down to the lake to wash them and wondered for just a second if Lori had passed them over to the woman or if Carol had taken them herself. The train of thought was quickly disrupted by Glenn moaning at me.<p>

"I can't believe they're taking it apart!" Glenn complained, his arms crossed and a sullen look on his face as he stood beside me. Yawning at him I nodded my head quietly; in my opinion it was better for them to be taking it from there than my Mustang. He seemed to catch onto this train of thought and glanced at me suspiciously, "Don't be happy about the destruction of my car!"

"This is not a happy face, Glenn! This is an 'I'm fuckin' tired, don't bullshit me' face. 'Kay?" I snapped with a narrowed pair of eyes, he rolled his own at me and huffed. I didn't understand why exactly he was watching the thing be dismantled but he seemed to want to wallow in his misery this just peachy fuckin' day.

"I thought you didn't sleep. I heard you scream. Did you have a nightmare?" Glenn asked in the next breath, completely concerned with me. Dale, who was syphoning gas, looked back at me with interest. I could tell he wanted me to admit to Glenn what was bothering me. If you asked him, Glenn was my best-fuckin'-friend in the world. I guess it was rather relevant but it didn't mean what Dale wanted it to. Glenn was worse at keeping secrets than T-Dog was, and well we knew how that boat had sailed.

"Yesterday got to me." I muttered sheepishly, avoiding both his and Dale's eyes. Jim was working hard at the engine; removing any parts that could be used for the Winnebago, or any of the other vehicles floating around the camp. It wasn't all that interesting to watch but between that and being poked at by Glenn, I'd definitely choose the former.

He scoffed, "Don't feel guilty about Dixon."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I didn't say that. Did I? Stop reading between the lines, doll."

"Then you're worried about Daryl." He reasoned factually, acting like it was the next logical thing. Sure, I was worried about Daryl but that wasn't what had woken me up in a cold sweat. No, not at all. Daryl would be a cake walk at this point, I figured to myself.

The thing that had gotten to me was Merle. Even all the way in the city, trapped on that goddamn roof, Merle was fuckin' getting to me. It hadn't been a nice dream, a combination of that fateful night and every other time I had had contact with him rushed into one twisted nightmare. It had left me breathless and trembling, regretting the decision to sleep in that damn tent too.

Shane had been the one to charge over and check on me. I hadn't been more embarrassed about a night terror in my life. Apparently I had sounded like a Walker was eatin' me and had scared the whole damn camp. I felt bad about it and didn't care for the careful glances everyone was giving me, but it wasn't my goddamn fault.

Shane had begrudgingly left me alone after a half-assed explanation was given to him after he had ripped open the flap to my tent. He looked unconvinced but at this point I think he had more important things to worry about and was letting me off easy for once.

"Yeah, sure. Let's go with that." I muttered in exasperation. It was sorta sad my two options were either Dixon or Dixon in these people's opinions. I couldn't just have a simple nightmare about the shit I had to see and live through, no, why would it ever be that easy? I had to relive horrible things that shouldn't have happened to me in the first place and listen to that man's voice echo in my fuckin' head.

Glenn smirked triumphantly, "I can read you like a book."

Glancing at him in annoyance I scoffed. "Yeah, what kind of book am I now?"

"Annoyed."

"Whoa, share your ways oh Sensei!" I mocked with a scowl.

Laughing, he made a swipe for my shoulder but I quickly moved out of the way. Physical contact wasn't too high on my to-do after waking up the way I had. "Shut up, Em." The easy smile on Glenn's lips made me relax slightly.

"What's happening?" Rick asked, appearing on Glenn's other side a few minutes later. Well shit, here we go again. I knew Glenn wouldn't be below complaining to the newbie about Shane ordering for the car to be dismantled. I guess you could say it was rather cruel, but it had to be done.

"They're completely tearing it apart," Glenn moaned to Rick.

"We need every drop of gas we can get. It has to be done, Glenn." Dale commented dutifully, passing us with a red canister full of gas, always quick to defend anything that kept his Winnebago moving.

"I thought I could at least drive it for a few days." Glenn muttered.

"Maybe we'll get to steal another one someday." Rick offered, patting Glenn on the shoulder.

"For future reference; let's make it a Ford." I commented lightly, peeking over at Rick with a small grin. It was hard not to talk to the man when he was around. He just had this aura around him that was hard to ignore. He was too nice not to talk to. Even with how fucked up things were getting in my head.

"Good idea. How are you doing?" Rick laughed.

"I'm fine."

"Heard you scream last night." Rick commented, he didn't seem suspicious of me like Shane had, merely worried as to what had caused the reaction from me. It was different to have such an emotion coming for a man I barely knew, but perhaps that's what made him the better man in comparison to Shane, well among other obvious things.

"Seems everyone did; I'm really sorry if I woke you up. I was just having a bad night."

"It's alright. I hope you sort it out."

"Me too." I replied with a smaller smile, trying hard to not let the cracks shine through. Nodding his head at the two of us in a short farewell, he turned slightly and walked over to Lori who was hanging laundry on the line.

Glancing over at the sound of a vehicle coming, Shane roared up in the black Jeep he towed around for water. With a quick warning to boil it before using it, as per usual, Amy and Andrea went to grab a few of the water coolers from the back. I was just about to pull one down myself when we all heard a scream. A very terrified scream.

"Carl!" Lori called out in a panic. I didn't even think twice and took off running after Rick towards the noise. Shane was on our tail with two shotguns as Carl's panic increased, the screams getting louder and louder the closer we got.

Carl and Sophia darted over once we neared the line of cans; Jacqui was nearby and untangled the line from their legs. Shane tossed Rick one of the shotguns and Glenn appeared from behind and handed me the skillet, keeping hold of the baseball bat in his hands. Carl waved in a panic to the direction they had come from and with a glance shared between us we rushed forward. It had to be a Walker. It just had to be. The fact that one had come this far us was frightening to me.

Once we entered the clearing I couldn't help but frown. Not only was there a Walker, but there it was eating the damn buck. The damn buck Daryl was supposed to be tracking and I could tell he had been sorta successful. The thing had two arrows in its hind leg. So that only meant that Daryl was close by. The thought made me more panicked then the Walker. Could I really face him after everything that had happened in the last forty-eight hours?

Rick advised us to circle around it, and slowly the group of us did. Eyeing the creature carefully, I stood my ground beside Glenn, waiting for Shane to take the shot. It didn't sit well with me that while watching it gorge itself on the inside of the poor buck that it reminded me of what we had done to Rick and Glenn just yesterday.

When it smelt us around it, it stood up slowly and turned to face Rick. It took just one lunge closer and Rick spun the shotgun in his hands around and hit the Geek in the head with one quick jab. It fell to its knees. It wasn't long before, Dale, Jim, Glenn, Shane, Rick, and Morales started beating at it with bats, a pitchfork, and axe and the butts of shotguns. I didn't get too close once they had started, the reach the skillet had was only so far and I didn't want to get trapped in the middle of that mess. Somehow it was worse watching it happen to an actually moving one that it had been to watch Morales and Rick hack apart Wayne. It didn't still until Dale chopped the motherfuckers head clear off. I gagged.

"That's the first one we've had up here," Dale commented, breathing heavy as everyone took a much needed step back. "They never come this far up the mountain."

"They're runnin' out of food in the city." Jim concluded, shaking his head.

"Obviously," I muttered, but I went unheard as the bushes rustled slightly behind Jim and Shane. Immediately everyone was ready to strike again. If it was two, we really were fucked. One was bad enough, but two meant, well two meant it wouldn't be long before even more of them came up here for the wildlife.

"Jesus." Shane muttered in distaste when Daryl Dixon finally came into view, sweaty and annoyed from the hunt. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Son of a bitch!" Daryl cursed, catching sight of the pieced Walker and the eaten buck not too far away from it. "That was _my_ deer!" Rick eyed him suspiciously and baked further away, he seemed to know without us telling him anything that this was the younger Dixon. I could see the wheels turning in the man's head.

"Look at it! All gnawed on by this disease ridden, filthy motherless, piece of shit bastard!" Daryl growled, annoyed, punctuating each word with a kick to the Walkers body.

"Calm down, son, it ain't helping." Dale commented, shaking his head at Daryl.

"What do you know about it old man! Why don't you take that stupid ass hat and go back to Gillian's Island!" Daryl huffed.

"Been trackin' this deer for miles," He complained, pulling each of the arrows out of the deer. Shaking my head, more like a _month_. "Was gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison." He kept muttering. Well, on the bright side, it looked like he had a hefty supply of squirrels on one shoulder. That'd feed some of these dumbasses for a while.

"You think we can cut around this big ass bite and still use it?" Daryl asked motioning around the bite and looking back at me for my opinion on the matter. Glancing between him and the deer I made a face.

"It's bad enough you're not hygienic with those fuckin' arrows, so I'm gonna say fuck no." I answered. Well, actually talking to him hadn't been that bad. It could've been worse, I thought to myself. Another part of me was quick to remind that he didn't know Merle was missing yet, so of course it would be easy. We were still on the same terms we had been the last time we had seen each other and obviously whatever stick up his ass had been removed as per usual.

"Damn shame." He said, shaking his head in disgust. "I got us some squirrels though, 'bout a dozen. That'll have to do."

But I wasn't paying attention to a word Dixon was saying, I was too involved in paying attention to the fuckin' mouth of the supposedly dead Walker fuckin' moving, eyes open and everything! Everyone else seemed equally disgusted by it.

"Come on people, what the hell?" Daryl asked with a roll of his eyes, aiming his crossbow he fired at the head and landed an arrow right in its eye. "Gotta get the brain. Don't ya'll know nothin'?" He continued, removing the arrow from the head and wiping it against the legs of his pants.

Rick's eyes followed Daryl as he made his way out of the clearing and back to camp. My stomach knotted in anticipation. The big moment was coming up, and quick.

"Merle? Get your ass out here! Merle! Got us some squirrel!" I don't know if it was the panic of the situation crawling up on us or what, but that sounded funnier to my ears than it should have, even eliciting a short giggle from my lips. Dale narrowed his eyes on me suspiciously and I shrugged my shoulders innocently, as we trailed cautiously behind Daryl. He was still giving me that fragile look and it was one too many things for me to be worrying about at present.

"Daryl? Slow down, I need to talk to you." Shane said, calling out to him carefully. He was just lucky Daryl had deposited his crossbow to be propped up against an ice cooler; otherwise he would've had an arrow up his ass pretty soon.

"About what?"

"About Merle. There was a uh, a problem in Atlanta." Shane explained vaguely. Daryl glanced over his shoulder at me; he knew I had gone into that city with his brother and I knew he was confused as to why I wasn't tellin' him. I didn't want that job, not one bit. As he glanced around at the rest of the camp that was watching him all too carefully, he seemed to get a clue to what had happened.

"He dead?"

"I'm not sure."

"He either is, or he ain't!"

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it." Rick interrupted, moving forward from the sidelines quickly.

"Who the fuck are you!" Daryl demanded.

"Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes?" Daryl mocked back. "What the hell do you have to tell me?"

"Your brother was a danger to us all. So I handcuffed him to a piece of metal on the roof. He's still there." Rick explained carefully.

"Hold on, let me process this." Daryl scoffed. And that precise moment is the moment T-Dog thought was a good one to come back from the woods; arm full of fire wood. He instantly tensed as he spotted Daryl, his eyes darted to me in panic and I discreetly shook my head at him to show that for right now he was in the clear. But not for long. "You're sayin' you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there!"

"Yeah." Rick agreed, looking down shamefully.

Daryl narrowed his eyes on Rick and bounced between his feet before he flung the rope full of squirrels at Rick before lunging at him. Quickly, from the side, Shane charged at Daryl and collided with him sending him to the dusty ground, landing with an awful thump on top of him.

"Watch the knife!" T-Dog advised as he dropped the pile of wood and rushed closer to the fight as Daryl unsheathed the knife from his belt and made to go after Rick with it. Easily, after Daryl had made a swipe at him, Rick disarmed Daryl and from the other side of him Shane came and helped secure the pissed off redneck.

"You'd best let me go!" Daryl demanded to Shane as he held him in a headlock.

"Man, I don't think that'd be best."

"Choke holding doin' is illegal!" Daryl grunted.

"Yeah, well file a complaint." Shane commented sarcastically. "Man, I can keep this up all day!" Shane urged on as Daryl continued to struggle.

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this matter. Do you think you could manage that?" Rick asked, bending down to eye level with Daryl. Well, he was more genial than the rest of us, that much was sure. "Do you think we can manage that?" He asked again, punctuating it further. At Daryl's slight nod of his head, Shane released him, throwing him to the ground just a lil' rougher than necessary.

"Now, what I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others."

"It's my fault; I had the key and I dropped it." T-Dog admitted, interrupting Rick.

"You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl huffed in annoyance.

"Well, I dropped it in a drain." T-Dog explained. But he didn't, really? Did he? Empathy for T-Dog thrummed in my chest, but I couldn't bring myself to admit fault to Merle bein' left up there. Daryl snorted at his excuse in disdain.

"If that's supposed to make me feel better – it don't." Daryl complained, throwing a fistful of dirt to the ground to emphasize the point as he walked by T-Dog.

"Well maybe this will; Em and I chained the door to the roof, so the Geeks couldn't get him. With a padlock too." T-Dog told him, trying to show Daryl that it really wasn't that bad. But it was, either fuckin' way you wanted to spin it. It was. At the mention of my name his heated gaze had turned to meet mine, he looked hurt by the thought that I hadn't tried to help his brother.

"I can't believe _you _left him!" Daryl shouted at me.

"Hey! Leave her alone! If anyone deserved to leave Merle's sorry ass behind – it was her!" T-Dog shouted right back in my defense, his hands forming fists at his sides. My eyes narrowed on him in annoyance as he spoke just a little too much. Telling Dale hadn't been enough for him obviously; he was gonna tell the whole fuckin' camp. I could just sense it. He was setting me up for goddamn failure.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Daryl questioned coarsely, honing in on me as I tried to escape the attention. But I wasn't quick enough.

Licking my lips anxiously I glanced around the camp; nearly every pair of eyes were firmly set on me. They were no longer concerned with the short fused redneck for this one second; they wanted to hear whatever illustrious reason I must've had to leave the eldest Dixon behind.

"Might be best to just get it off your chest, Emily." Dale instructed from behind me, glancing over my shoulder I glared fiercely at the older man. I wouldn't be surprised if he had set this whole goddamn mess up, 'cause if he thought I should talk about somethin' well fuck, he was gonna get me to talk about it one way or another.

"C'mon, spit it out!" Daryl shouted, continuing to badger me not only with his voice but the look he was giving me, nearly driving me to tears.

"Fine!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air. "You want to know why I was screaming last night? Huh? I know all you nosy asses do! I was havin' a goddamn nightmare! About what you ask; about Merle fuckin' Dixon."

"Emily, calm down." Dale suggested softly not expecting such a tone to come from me so suddenly. It caused me to throw another murderous glare over my shoulder at him. He got me started and now he wants me to fuckin' calm down! What was he, fucked in the goddamn head?

"Oh no, you wanted me to talk about it and I'm gonna fuckin' talk about it!" I seethed back at him before turning my head swiftly back around to face Daryl. He seemed to have an idea where this was going and looked all the more pissed at me. "Your lovely brother fuckin' raped me! He snuck into my goddamn tent and _raped me! _So yeah, Merle gettin' his ass stuck on that roof is my kinda karma, he fuckin' deserves every agonizing moment!"

"Don't fuckin' lie about my brother like that!"

I laughed, rolling my eyes, "If you actually think I'd lie about that piece of trash touching me, than you're more delusional than the rest of these assholes!"

"Ya know what? To hell with all ya'll! Just tell me where he is! So I can go get him!" Daryl exclaimed, swiping at his eyes. It hurt me more than it should have for Daryl to not believe me when I said the truth. I hadn't expected anything less if I wanted to be honest with myself, but it still hit a nerve.

"He's gonna show you." Lori piped up from the doorway of the Winnebago. "Isn't that right?"

Looking around at us, Rick nervously declared, "I'm going back." Well fuck. Dixon was gonna get his ass saved. _Fuck_. That only meant one thing. So was I. I couldn't have Rick go and save Merle's sorry ass. I'd be royally fucked if Dixon got back to camp alive.

"Count me in." I volunteered a breath later; shocked looks all around were given to me and I tried my hardest to ignore them.

"Em, you sure about that?" Glenn asked from beside me.

Looking straight at Daryl, "Yeah, 'cause I need a fuckin' witness." He scoffed and looked away from me, scooping his crossbow back up he turned and made quick of the space between here and his tent.

"Emily-"

"Just shut up! I'm a big girl, Dale, I can handle this." The only question was if that was true or if I was just tellin' myself that to make me feel better. Either way, I was gonna be seein' Atlanta sooner than I had originally planned. Well fuck me sideways.

"You shouldn't be doing this, Em." Jacqui chided me twenty minutes later as I repacked all my bags; skillet, pistol, shotgun, and a box or two of ammo. I knew she had a point; everyone who had been talking to me since Rick had disappeared into his tent to get ready had had a point. But it didn't matter. I had too much running on Merle dying up on that goddamn roof. I was gonna be more than dead if he came back here and well, if I was gonna die it was gonna be on my own fuckin' terms. Sure as hell not Merle's.

"Yeah, that's what I'm bein' told."

Grabbing a hold of my arm she demanded my attention, "I mean it, Emily. You're bein' _stupid_."

"Look," I said with a sigh. "I have to do this. I just have to. You don't have to agree but you _do_ have to wish me luck." Jacqui shook her head at me in disappointment; she wanted me to have a revelation and to stay back. But I couldn't do that. "C'mon, Jac."

"Fine,_ good luck_." Jacqui said with a sigh, shaking her head at my lazy smile in her direction.

"See, ain't too hard!" I laughed, hauling my bag up from the ground and ducking out of the tent. Jacqui followed closely behind me as we made our way back to where Rick and Shane were presently arguing. It looked like a sorta friendly spat but I noticed that Shane wasn't too ready to let Rick just go waltzing back into the city like he was.

"Why would you risk your life for a douchebag like Merle Dixon?" Shane demanded.

"Hey! Choose your words more carefully!" Daryl demanded, pointing an arrow at Shane threateningly.

"Oh no, I did. Douchebags what I meant." Shane replied, looking at Daryl for only a brief second. "Merle Dixon. Man wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst." Shane muttered with a shake of his head. I knew my reasons for goin' back but I couldn't understand how such a good person like Rick was. But I guess that was an answer; he was a good person.

"Would or wouldn't. Doesn't matter. _I_ can't leave a man dying of thirst and exposure. Dying like an animal caught in a cage. That's no way for anything to die. Let alone a human being." Rick returned steadily, justifying his cause.

"So you, Daryl and Emmy, that's your big plan?" Lori asked suspiciously from her seat on the ground, beside her was Carl, Sophia and Carol.

Rick glanced to Glenn who was standing nearby; leaned up against his bare car, and the look that crossed Glenn's face was almost amusing. He didn't look happy with the idea and I really couldn't blame him. "Oh man, tell me you're kidding."

"You know the way. You've been there before – you and Emmy. In and out; no problems you said yourself. Seems like the two of you are a dynamic duo." Rick insisted as Glenn nervously removed and replaced the worn red baseball cap on his head. "I know it's not fair of me to ask, but I'd feel a lot better if you were comin' along. I know Emmy would too." Great, drag me into it.

"That's just great; now we're gonna waste four men, huh?" Shane asked sarcastically.

"Five." T-Dog added. Fuck, the whole damn gang was comin' along. "Can't let you go alone, Em."

"Day just keeps gettin' better and better, huh?" Daryl scoffed with a roll of his eyes as he finished cleaning his arrows. So he did fuckin' listen to me. I almost laughed.

"You see anybody else steppin' up to save your brothers cracker ass? After what he did to Em, I wouldn't knock it." T-Dog snapped back to Daryl.

"Yeah, well why are you doin' it then?" Daryl asked.

"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language." T-Dog muttered, brushing the younger Dixon off easily.

"So five then." Dale stated with a nod of his head.

"Not just them; you're risking all of us by going back into that that, just remember that, Rick. Come on, you saw that Walker. _In_ camp. They're moving outta the city and we need every able body here. Protecting the camp." Shane said, trying to stress the point.

"Sounds like what you need around here are more guns." Rick threw back.

"Guns?"

"Guns!" Glenn and I grinned in unison, hadn't he left a bag of guns behind when we had saved him from that tank?

"About six shotguns, two high powered rifles, over a dozen hand guns. I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed. It's just sittin' there waitin' for us." Rick explained.

"Ammo?" Shane asked.

"Six hundred rounds or more. Assorted."

"You went through hell to find us. You just got here and you're just gonna go back in there?" Lori asked, aghast at the thought that Rick was leaving again.

"Dad, I don't want you to go." Carl said, expressing his own displeasure with the idea. But really, it was just too good of a plan to pass up. I could see Dale and Shane starting to agree with the idea. The wheels in their heads were turning and they were almost completely on board.

"To hell with the guns. Shane's right; Merle Dixon, he ain't worth one of your lives, even with guns thrown in." Lori complained. "Tell me. Make me understand."

"I owe a debt to a man I met, and his little boy. Lori, they hadn't taken me in; I'd be dead. It's because of them that I made it back to you. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta, it's not safe there. I have to warn them."

"What's stoppin' you?"

"The walkie-talkie in the bag I dropped. He's got the other one. The plan was to connect when he got closer." Rick elaborated to his wife.

"The walkie's ours?"

"Yeah." Rick sighed.

"Then use the CB, what's wrong with that?" Andrea asked.

"CB's fine. It's the walkie's that are crap. From the seventies and don't match any other frequency. Not even the scanners in our cars." Shane said, shaking his head.

"I need that bag." Rick repeated to Lori, by the look and silence she gave him. It was a done deal. Next he bent down next to Carl, "Okay?" Glancing around, Carl finally nodded too. Well, now that that's done.

After Rick had given orders to Glenn to back the truck up, he went after Dale with T-Dog at his side. Working with the presumption that the key was down the train, we'd need bolt cutters to save the asshole. Though if we were lucky we wouldn't have anything to save.

"Word on the street is you have bolt cutters." Rick started as he approached Dale and Jim who were still workin' on the engine of the Winnebago.

"Maybe." Dale replied vaguely. I figured he was still pissed about the bag of tools we left behind.

"When we get to that roof, we'll need 'em to cut that chain and the handcuffs." T-Dog spoke up. Dale continued to eye them wearily.

"I never liked lending tools and yes-" Dale began, waving his finger at T-Dog who looked down sheepishly. "I'm talking about you, the last time I did they didn't make their way back. Let's just say your bag wasn't the only one that got dropped. My tools got left behind; with Merle."

"We'll bring back your bag too. Think of the bolt cutters as an investment." Rick bartered.

"Sounds like more of a gamble." Dale muttered going to fetch them. When he came back with them, he handed them to me. A soft smile on his face. "You're the only one I trust with these. Bring them and the bag back, alright?"

"Whatever you say, old man." I muttered, taking the bolt cutters from him.

"You don't have to apologize." I raised my eyebrow at him.

"I really wasn't planning on it." I stated with a shrug of my shoulders, turning on my heel and making for the truck. I almost stopped short by the look Daryl was giving me as he paced the inside of the truck. He looked impatient and feral and I was glad I had called shotgun while I had. I didn't want to be stuck back there with him and his emotions. It didn't look like a fun ride.

"Now, what do I get in return?" Dale asked Rick, and I let a small laugh escape my lips. He wanted a gun. He'd been trying to weasel one off of me since I got here and finally had figured out that shit wasn't gonna fly. So he was turning to this new prospect. Definitely crafty.

"What do you want?"

"How about one of those guns? My pick."

"Deal." Rick replied easily and that was the last of the conversation I heard clearly as I slammed the door behind me after climbing up inside the front of the truck. Glenn glanced at me with a lopsided smile and I rolled my eyes in good humor. At least Glenn wasn't acting any differently with me.

Then Daryl reached over Glenn rudely and honked the horn four or five times, turning back around he shouted impatiently, "Come on! Let's go!"

Opening the passenger door again, Rick hopped up and squeezed in beside me. My breathing hitched as I was squished in between him and Glenn and I forced myself to focus on something else. Like the pistol Rick was loading; it looked like Shane had given him five rounds. Five rounds. Five people. Just enough to opt out if the need was happened upon.

When we reached the train tracks – a place Glenn and I entered the city through when we were heading to the downtown district specifically, and to retrieve Merle, we were – Daryl finally spoke up. "My brother better be okay. If he ain't, there's gonna be hell to pay. That's all I'm gonna say."

"I told you – the Geeks can't get to him. The only thing that's gonna get through that door is _us_." T-Dog replied.

"We walk from here." Glenn told us as he turned the engine off.

Nodding his head Rick was opening the door and climbing out just a little too slowly for me. I was all but vindicated when he was finally far enough away that I could finally breathe. Sliding out of the vehicle I took a deep breathe, peeking around the rear of the truck as Daryl and T-Dog emerged. Daryl didn't even spare me a glance, but T-Dog tried to give me a smile in encouragement.

Then began the lovely walk back into the city. The lovely walk back to save my rapist. I don't know how I was gonna handle him; all I knew was that he needed to be dead and gone. I didn't want to be constantly looking over my goddamn shoulder and if he was alive that's all I was gonna be doin'. I needed to solve this problem and I'd be damned if anyone got in my way.


	12. Eleven

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello my dolls, how is your weekend going? Lovely, I hope. :) TWD is confirmed for another season and they just cast The Governor, so in honor of that, I give you this. :)

I love this installment; more than I thought I would when I started writing it. After re-watching this episode, it's instantly my new favorite from the first season. If you guys haven't watched if for awhile, you need to, 'cause Daryl is just awesome. ;)

Thank you to Hazardous Hollz - so many reviews, in so little time! -, Slytherin Stuidios, Indigo, Dalonega Noquisi, and MelodyTaylor85 for leaving me reviews. Who loves you guys? ME! :)) Gratzi to the lovely Mari-chan83 for adding this to their alerts. :) Thank you to Angel Reckless and the sweet smelling one for addings this to your favs. :) Love each and everyone of you so much! xD

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>Weep for yourself, my man,<br>You'll never be what is in your heart  
>Weep Little Lion Man,<br>You're not as brave as you were at the start  
>Rate yourself and rake yourself,<br>Take all the courage you have left  
>Wasted on fixing all the problems<br>That you made in your own head_

_But it was not your fault but mine_  
><em>And it was your heart on the line<em>  
><em>I really fucked it up this time<em>  
><em>Didn't I, my dear?<em>  
><em>Didn't I, my...<em>

_Tremble for yourself, my man,_  
><em>You know that you have seen this all before<em>  
><em>Tremble Little Lion Man,<em>  
><em>You'll never settle any of your scores<em>  
><em>Your grace is wasted in your face,<em>  
><em>Your boldness stands alone among the wreck<em>  
><em>Now learn from your mother or else spend your days<em>  
><em>Biting your own neck<em>

_Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons_

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><p><strong>Eleven<strong>

"Merle or guns first?" Rick asked as he held back a piece of the chain link fence for us to climb through. It was a stupid question and I wish we didn't even have to ask it. If anything the only reason we should've been back in the city was for the guns.

"Merle! I can't believe we're even havin' this conversation!" Daryl snapped impatiently.

"We _are_." Rick punctuated in disdain. "You know the geography; who's closer?" Rick asked, glancing to Glenn for advice. It was a stupid question considering we had had to back track to the department store after we saved his dumbass.

"Merle's closest than where you dropped your bag. So Merle first." Glenn replied, glancing at me from the corner of his eye with just a smidge of remorse on the fact. All that gave me was less time to figure out how I was gonna be handling this problem.

"Let's make it snappy then." I commented with a tight lipped smile as our pace increased. If looks could kill, Daryl would have me laid out on the floor. Apparently it wasn't bad enough that I was comin' back to '_save_' his brother but speaking in general at this point was also a crime against him. Good to know.

Glenn led us flawlessly into the city. It was easier without Merle naggin' at us and Andrea complaining. T-Dog was mostly quiet and stayed close to Glenn and I; who lead the league of them through the dangerous streets. Rick was between T-Dog and Daryl in the single file line we had ended up in. I could more or less still sense the heated gaze coming from Dixon and so I didn't question how he was handling the situation.

Once we got back to the department store, Rick stepped to the front of the group. Stepping through the demolished windows he led us carefully onto the main floor. There was one or two Walkers loitering around and with a quick hand motion to Daryl, he moved around fallen racks and clothing and faced the Walker, crossbow aimed and ready. "Damn. What an ugly skank." He then proceeded to fire; straight into the head. I would've let myself be impressed for just a second – just like I had been every other time I had watched the redneck in action – but then I remembered what a dick he was and how simple it was to shoot at pointblank. Not so impressive then.

After he had retrieved the arrow from the former woman's head, the next course of action was to head up the roof. It was suspiciously quiet considering I'd figure Dixon wouldn't be dead just yet. I had figured he was gonna go out with a noisy death so the silence made me oddly suspicious.

Being the last one up the staircase I tried my hardest to remain calm. He was gonna be fuckin' pissed when he saw me and I couldn't be distracted from the plan I was forming. I had to stay strong. I couldn't react to whatever bullshit he'd say to me or accuse me of – truth or otherwise – I had a big enough target on my back as it was when it came to Daryl at this point and I didn't need to be addin' a bigger one. Besides, if I acted like he was bat shit crazy sayin' I left him up there, well everyone else should land on my side. _Hopefully_.

T-Dog cut the padlock and pulled the chain away from the door. Daryl was quick to kick open the door and go thundering outside, shouting his dumb fuck of a brother's name at the top of his lungs. Following Glenn out onto the roof I became even more suspicious as the man in question didn't bitch right back to his baby brother.

My heart dropped when I didn't see Merle Dixon handcuffed to that Where the fuck was he! My panicked eyes swept around the roof, spinning on my feet I tried to find the vile man but he was nowhere in sight. He _wasn't_ on the roof. How the fuck wasn't he still up here? The door had still been chained and-

Was that his goddamn hand! Daryl's pain filled cry of anguish of the lone limb confirmed my suspicions. There was a bloodied hacksaw not too far away from where we had left him and the once shiny handcuffs were rusted over with his blood. He had cut off his goddamn _hand_.

My heart hammered against my ribs painfully. Where was he? He was really goddamn pissed if he hacked off his hand. His _hand_! That's something you typically needed for day-to-day life; especially now a days. Not to mention havin' an open wound like that caused more than just a few problems for you.

"I can't believe it." I whispered softly, shaking my head. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. If anything I expected to find a chewed up Merle, not a fuckin' hand!

"This is all on you, you goddamn nigger!" Daryl screamed at T-Dog in outrage, roughly shoving his hands through his hair. Fuck, this so wasn't good! Not for any of us.

"Just relax, Daryl." Rick advised nervously, his hand automatically going to rest of the hilt of his gun. Well, maybe we'd end up losin' two Dixon's if Daryl didn't stop freaking out over there. When Daryl spun around and aimed his crossbow right at T-Dog, Rick didn't think twice about un-holstering his pistol and aiming it at Daryl.

"I won't hesitate. I don't care if every Walker in the city hears it." Rick told Daryl with a steely tone, his eyes narrowed dangerously on the crossbow wielding man. With a sigh and a shake of his head Daryl lowered the bow; Rick re-cocked his gun and holstered it.

"You got a do-rag or somethin'?" Daryl asked T-Dog. Glancing at me briefly with a funny look on his face, T-Dog dug around in his pockets before producing a blue bandanna.

Grabbing it and shaking it out to unfold it, Daryl set his bow up against the stairs. Bending down and laying the bandanna across the ground he gingerly picked the hand up by the pinky finger. "I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuff." Daryl commented cryptically as he wrapped the limb up securely in the bandanna.

Glancing around he finally went after Glenn and unzipped the back of his pack, placing Merle's hand at the top of whatever he had in there. By the disgusted look on Glenn's face I could tell he wasn't too happy with the choice, but wasn't stupid enough to go against it.

"He must've used a tourniquet; maybe his belt." Daryl continued, looking back down at the pool of blood. "Be much more blood if he didn't." He, Glenn, and Rick then proceeded to follow the trail of blood across the roof. I opted to stay with T-Dog as he made to recollect the tools Dale had lent him. I don't think he could come back to camp a second time without 'em. Dale would probably lecture him to death.

"You okay, Em?" T-Dog asked with concern, passing the bolt cutters up to me carefully before he began putting everything back into the bag. It was a simple enough question that should've warranted a simple enough answer, but I don't think anything was that simple anymore. Not today and definitely not tomorrow.

With a sigh I glanced around the roof one more time, just to be sure the monster wasn't lurking somewhere. "I don't know, T-Dog." He frowned back up at me and my answer. I couldn't blame him; not exactly an answer you ever wanted to get to any question asked. But, it was the truth. I just didn't know, not until I knew where Dixon was. Not until I knew if I was safe or not. Not until Dixon was _dead_. For good this time, bullet through his goddamn head.

"Hey guys!" Glenn called out from where they had disappeared a few moments before. The tool bag was fully packed aside from the bloody hacksaw and for the past few minutes T-Dog and I had been staring at it blankly. Not exactly something either of us had wanted to pick up. Glenn had proven to be a startling distraction. "Come on. We think we know where Merle went." Oh, goody. T-Dog seemed to have the same thought as he grunted at Glenn.

Trailing after Glenn we went into a door that I hadn't noticed before and then down a set of stairs. Daryl and Rick were waiting at the foot of them, one more impatiently than the other. Give you twenty bucks to guess which one that was.

"Took you fuckin' long enough." Daryl muttered with a disdainful roll of his eyes in my direction.

When Rick flung the next door open we were greeted by an office. And a Walker with half her face falling off and a horrible two piece suit that looked more ragged than her face, which considering was saying a lot. She needed a jaw lift or somethin'. Daryl didn't think twice before firing an arrow into her head and once she hit the floor he was looming over her and removing the arrow from her head, swiping it quickly on the leg of his pants he reloaded it.

Next was a set of hallways we had to navigate through. Rick and Daryl were at the front, and then Glenn, T-Dog and I lead up the rear. Moving quietly as we could, whenever a door would come up at our sides either Rick or Daryl would duck into it quickly to check for Walkers or Merle. Considering that we'd already come across one of them I wasn't finding the idea too farfetched that perhaps Merle was one too. Wouldn't that just be the nail in his coffin? The thought made me happier than it probably should have.

When we got to what looked like the reception area of whatever this hunk of offices had once been we found two more Walkers, just confirming my idea that much more. Though, these ones were dead and not waiting to chew on us. This fact seemed to encourage Daryl on the well-being of his brother.

"Had enough in him take care of these sons a bitches. One handed." He seemed impressed by the fact. "Toughest bastard I've ever met, my brother." Daryl added in appreciation of his handiwork. "Feed 'im a hammer and he'd shit out nails." Frowning at the odd analogy I hung further back with Glenn as Rick continued to eye the room wearily.

"Any man can pass out from blood loss; no matter how tough he is." Rick stated cryptically. Well score one for Officer Friendly. And considering the trail of blood that wasn't letting up, I figured Rick had a point. Wouldn't be too long until we came across his body. How easy would it be to kill him if he was already half way there? If he wasn't already dead that is. Girl could hope I guess.

"Merle!" Daryl shouted as he and Rick started to round a corner up ahead.

"Hey!" Rick snapped. "We're not alone, keep it quiet."

"Screw that. He could be bleedin' out, you said so yourself." Daryl threw right back. Well, that's what we were hoping.

It looked like we had found a kitchen. By the lingering smell I could go out on a limb and say that Merle had cauterized his stump. The kerosene cans with flames still flickering was a good indicator to that too. I don't know what was worse; the fact that he had actually done it in a kitchen or the fact that he had used an iron skillet. Made me look at my own just a lil' differently.

"What's that burned stuff?" Glenn asked stupidly, a confused look on his face.

"It's skin, Glenn. Merle cauterized himself with _a skillet_." I answered him, shaking my head in disgust of the smell and the gore he had left behind.

"Told you he was tough. Nobody can kill Merle but Merle." Daryl snarled proudly. Or me, hopefully I'd be on the end of that stick soon, 'cause I doubted Merle would be willingly killin' himself anytime soon and well, that just wasn't gonna work for me.

"Don't take that on faith. He's still lost a lot of blood." Rick replied, glancing back to the stove for emphasis of his point. It really wasn't that hard to prove; most of the stove was covered in shed blood. It looked like a massacre had happened here rather than up top.

"Didn't stop him from bustin' outta this death trap." Daryl stated, motioning towards the busted window.

"He left the building?" Glenn questioned in a panic. "Why the hell would he do that?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Daryl asked right back with an attitude. "He's out here alone as far as he knows. He's doin' what he has to do." Somehow I doubted just surviving was part of Merle's to-do list for the week. I figured killin' me was a lot higher than that. If he made it back to camp I was so fucked.

"You call that survivin'? Just wanderin' out into the streets? Maybe even passin' out? What kind of odds does he have out there?" T-Dog asked incredulously.

"No worse than bein' handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry _pricks_." Daryl huffed. "And you couldn't kill him. So I ain't worried about some dead bastard." He said with a cocky tone, standing face to face with Rick.

"What about a thousand of 'em? Different story?"

"Take a tally. Do what you want. I'm gonna go get 'im."

"Daryl, wait-" Rick started, reaching out and putting his hand up against Daryl's chest to stop him. Daryl looked annoyed by the contact, but Rick I was finding, wasn't one to give up that easily.

"Get your hands off me! Can't stop a man from savin' his brother!"

"I don't blame you. He's family. I get that. I went through hell to find mine. He's not gonna get that far with an injury like that. We'll help you find him; search a few blocks. _But_ only if we keep a level head." Rick bargained.

"I could do that." Daryl agreed easily, though by the look in his eyes, I didn't think that was all too true.

T-Dog shook his head when Rick looked at him, "Only if we get those guns first. I'm not walkin' those streets with just my good intentions, okay?"

"Seriously." I muttered in agreement, my head ducked down self-consciously at the suspicious look Daryl gave me at the sound of my voice. It's not like I had the best intentions towards his brother at this point – not that he really knew that for sure or not and well I didn't even harbor any good ones to him at this moment either if we wanted to be honest, but he didn't have to be so fuckin' bitchy with me. Funny how quick shit could turn sour when a Dixon was involved.

Rick advised we find somewhere else where it didn't smell like burnt flesh to plan out the rest of our rescue mission before heading out to the streets and directed us to one of the offices we had passed on the way in.

On the way there, I was trailing in the back but somehow not that far back considering Dixon was the caboose in this train. I didn't want to be too close to anyone and the smell had been finally starting to get to me by the time we had crawled out of the kitchen so I felt sick to my stomach. Daryl was a few feet behind me, I could feel his eyes burning into my back and with a sigh I made a half-assed decision.

"You ever gonna stop givin' me dirty ass looks?" I questioned over my shoulder.

"You gonna admit you lied about Merle?" He shot back to me with zeal.

I scoffed audibly and stopped in my tracks, turning around swiftly to face him. "_No_."

"Then there's your answer."

"Why is it so fuckin' hard to believe that he raped me, huh? Out of everyone you're the one that knows just how ugly and horrible Merle could really be. Yet you don't believe the fuckin' truth about him. You can't tell me you didn't know he was like that; that you didn't expect him to try something. You just can't say that shit. 'Cause I know it ain't the truth."

"He _wouldn't_."

"Why, Daryl? Huh? Tell me _why_. Make me believe I just fuckin' imagined _everything_ he did to me. Make me believe he's just one goddamn saint in this hell hole and I'll take it all back." I demanded huskily, my eyes straining against the tears threatening to escape. I couldn't cry. I couldn't.

"You wouldn't understand." Daryl muttered, shaking his head.

"I think I deserve to know why you think I'm the bad guy here when the only thing I did wrong was have him rape me."

"He just wouldn't, Sinclair!" Daryl shouted back out at him, his voice echoing across the halls. I was surprised Rick wasn't instantly on our asses for makin' too much noise.

"_Why_!" I screamed, completely outraged. It wasn't bad enough that it had happened but I had to be called a liar too? It wasn't fuckin' fair and him thinking that about me was bothering me more than it should have. He should believe me; he knew his brother better than anybody. He should've expected it. Warned me even or something.

"'Cause I told him not to goddammit! He fuckin' promised me he wouldn't touch you!"

…wait, what?

"Forget it, Sinclair." Daryl huffed in the next, immediately back to his volatile attitude, breezing past me without too much effort as I stood there dumbfounded.

"Em, c'mon!" Glenn called a few moments later from the doorway of the office after Daryl had disappeared inside. I couldn't believe what he had just said; I wasn't even sure if I had heard him right. Did I even want to believe that? Did I?

"Em!" T-Dog harassed. Shaking my head and running a hand over my face I finally shook out of whatever revere I had been driven into. Turning back around I moved quickly down the hall to the doorway where the two of them stood. "Good?" T-Dog asked me in concern. Nodding my head quickly I motioned the two of them to move further in ahead of me.

"You're not doing this alone." Rick started once T-Dog and Glenn had gotten settled back on the floor, backs propped against the sides of desks. I took a seat in the office chair that sat behind the desk T-Dog was leaned up against. I felt like I had missed something and I was sure I had by the looks Glenn was getting. Even Daryl look unconvinced with whatever Glenn's bad idea was.

"I even think it's a bad idea and I don't even like you much." Daryl piped up from the side of Rick. Well wasn't he just a peach.

"It's a good idea; you just have to hear me out." Glenn argued.

"I for one would actually like to know _what_ the idea is." I commented with a pair of raised eyebrows in Glenn's direction.

"If we go out there as a group; we're slow, drawing attention. But if I go by myself or even take Em with me, then we'll be fast. Look," He paused moving an oversized paperclip around on the floor. Peering over the top of T-Dog's head I could see that Glenn had drawn on the linoleum with a Sharpie. It looked like he had recreated where the tank was; there were four or five squares lined up liked buildings on a street. "This is the tank and this is the bag of guns," Moving a crumpled up sticky note a few inches away from it to indicate our payload. "Here the alley where we first met. Daryl, Em and I'll go there."

"Why me?" Daryl asked, confused by Glenn's choice. Hell, even I was.

"Your cross bow. It's quiet; won't draw attention. We'll need it. Now, while Daryl is waiting in the alley and Em is covering me, I'll go and grab the bag. It'll be quick, easy." Glenn explained, moving a soda can tab to indicate me and a sticky note pop-up tap for Daryl waiting in the alley. It looked like a solid enough plan from up here and I could see it working out. Daryl made a face at the plan but remained silent.

"What about me and T-Dog?" Rick inquired.

"Right," Glenn said, grabbing ahold of a pink eraser he moved it what looked like two blocks away from the alley and tank. "You two will be here, two blocks away."

"Why so far away?"

"I may not be able to come back the same way. Walkers may cut me off. If that happens, I won't go back to Em and Daryl, I'll go forward instead. All the way around to that alley where you'll be. Either way I'll be covered."

"Yeah and what about me? Huh? I'm supposed to be covering you, so what happens if Walkers swarm?" I asked, confused as to why I had to tag along with him and Daryl.

"You go back to Daryl and then we meet back up here." Glenn replied, moving another piece onto the board. Sighing I leaned back into the chair. It didn't sound so solid anymore, but I didn't think there was any other way to go about it. It was this or nothin'.

"Hey kid, what did you do before all this?" Daryl asked curiously.

Glenn glanced at me and T-Dog, I think out of the entire camp T-Dog, Jim, Jac and I were the only ones that knew he used to be a pizza delivery boy. They probably wouldn't have trusted him to go in and out of the city like he did otherwise. They probably wouldn't trust him that much either if they knew his gambling habit, but that was neither here nor there.

"Delivered pizzas. Why?" Glenn finally replied, simply, like it was the most common thing in the world.

Rick and Daryl glanced at each other and nodded quietly, like it was a reasonable occupation to have before. Like going from delivery boy to scavenger in a post-apocalyptic world was the most normal thing; happened every damn day.

"Alright, well, I say game on." I announced, rising briskly to my feet. It was now or never I suppose, and now was better than never. 'Cause I sure as fuck wasn't riskin' Merle comin' across those guns before we did. That's all the shit I needed. He'd have an easy enough time killin' me just by himself, he didn't need any assistance. I did.

To get the alley, Glenn, Daryl and I went back up to the roof, back down the stairs, through the main floor of the department store, to the back office, darted through the empty alley, back up the other set of stairs, through the ransacked office, up the narrow ladder, across the roof and _then_ back down the side of the building to the fire escape before climbing down the questionable ladder and landing on the asphalt. I was the first one down.

"We all know what we're supposed to do..?" I asked as I waited for Glenn and Daryl to finish climbing. Landing beside me, Glenn nodded his head quietly; the nerves were getting to him now, I could notice it by the slight twitch of his hands. Daryl merely grunted, and honestly, I didn't expect anything less. I was surprised he was even agreeing to accompanying Glenn and I, actually.

Glancing up and down the alley nervously I removed the rifle from around my chest, checking the chamber for the bullets I knew I had loaded just to be sure, I sighed in relief and re-cocked it. It was supposed to be the last ditch effort if shit hit the fan, but the metal in my hands made me feel at ease. With everything going on I could always trust my gun.

"You got some balls for a Chinaman." Daryl commented as Glenn removed the plaid shirt from his shoulders and Daryl loaded his crossbow. Glenn and I were crouched slightly behind the full dumpster as we scoped the street ahead out. It smelt riper than I remembered it, but it was still a step above the smell of the dead that lingered in the air.

"I'm Korean." Glenn stated with a roll of his eyes, moving out from behind the dumpster.

"_Whatever_."

Glenn darted out from the alley first, keeping low to the ground he moved swiftly. After counting to twenty I followed him out, keeping a continual sweep of the five or six Walkers that were milling about around us I kept my rifle at the ready. The amount of them made me weary, but it was too late to back out now. Hopefully this would turn out just as simple as Glenn had made it out to be.

Passing the car he had just moments before; I panicked. There was a Geek sitting in the backseat, missing part of its mouth it looked like it had been a teenager at one point. It creeped the shit out of me how they did shit like that. Just went and sat in an empty car or a charred bus like it was the most normal thing in the goddamn world. It made me uneasy. Something that made me even more uneasy was that the Geek had noticed Glenn and me. It was presently on its way out of the car. I moved just a little quicker to catch up to Glenn.

It was rather obvious by the way they were acting that they sensed we were close. By Glenn's erratic behavior up ahead, I figured he knew this too. With a sigh I hung back at the sandbags that showed how close we really were to where a brigade of soldiers had made their final stand. Glenn had clambered over the four foot tall wall, lacking a lot of grace he had drawn more attention than I would've liked. I was between a rock and a hard place.

Glancing down the street Glenn was bobbing and weaving on, I saw that I had a few minutes between now and when he'd be runnin' his sorry ass back to me. The one Geek that had noticed Glenn hoppin' over the sandbags had noticed me by now and was lumbering its way to me. I couldn't use bullets, wasn't safe with the amount we had loitering not too far away. My only option was the butt of the rifle or the skillet that was hanging from my pack. What a choice.

Flipping the rifle around and holding it by the barrel, I brandished it like a bat once the Geek was within arm's reach. With all my might I swung hard at its head, I could hear the audible crack upon the impact but other than that the bitch remained on its feet. Reeling back I swung at its head again, this time I knocked it off its feet. One more quick swing before it could get back up and reach for me left another hole in its already destroyed head and immobile on the pavement. Toeing it carefully with my boot I was satisfied when it didn't move.

By the time I swiveled back around to check on Glenn, he had the bag of guns in hand and a Sheriff's hat. He had drawn more attention from the Walkers on that side of the barricade. He looked panicked as he started to go straight towards Rick and T-Dog but was stopped short by a Geek getting in his way; he quickly turned back around and made a run in my direction.

He flew over the sand bags and almost toppled over when he landed on my side, grabbing him by his arm I propelled him back down the street in Daryl's direction. Regaining his balance he was quick on his feet. I didn't bother with keeping quite a distance from him as we ran down the sidewalk – drawing more attention than either of us would've liked.

"_Ayúdame_!"

What the fuck was that? That was the second goddamn time too! What the fuck was Daryl doin'? He was gonna get us more fucked than we already were if he didn't shut the fuck up!

"_Ayúdame!" _

…wait, wasn't that Spanish? Did Daryl _even_ speak Spanish_? _Somehow I found that highly unlikely. Which meant someone else then. _Fuck_. My heart hammered against my ribs as I came to the conclusion, I didn't like the idea at all.

Running into the alley caused Glenn and I to pause. Three men. One on the ground and the other two beating the shit outta Daryl. One was bald and wearing a plaid shirt, buttoned up to his neck. The other wearing a bandanna on his head and a sleeveless shirt. Glenn's eyes were wide and if I looked in the mirror I'm sure I'd find mine to be even wider. This wasn't what I had expected, not at all.

Then the two of them seemed to sense Glenn and I. They turned to us with savage eyes. The one that was holding a metal pipe pointed it at Glenn, "That's him! That's the bag! Take it! Take it!" He shouted to the bald headed one. Immediately baldy was making a grab for us as we spun quickly on our heels to escape. But we weren't quick enough, he grabbed Glenn by the collar of his shirt and me by my pack, yanking us backwards with more force than I found necessary.

He then shoved both of us to the floor as his friend got closer, hitting the ground roughly on my knees and landing on the bloodied rifle I tried to keep struggling. My head was taking me somewhere else, somewhere I didn't want to be as he straddled my back and tried to rip my pack off of my shoulders. I was back in the tent with Merle, wanting to scream but not being able to, wanting to fight but feeling to weak, too startled.

My breathing was quick and erratic as I tried to fight my way out from under him. I ignored Glenn's moans of pain as I struggled against my own. Over the blood pumping loudly in my hears and my heart continuing to hammer across my ribs, I could hear the distinct sound of the metal pipe colliding with Glenn's body over and over as they tried to take what was ours.

And then suddenly the one of top of me was screaming, his weight falling more heavily on me as he reached behind him in pain. I didn't understand what was going on but if I wanted to be hopeful I knew it was the work of one Dixon that they had previously though incapacitated for a while.

Quickly the one with the bandanna pulled Glenn to his feet and put the bat across his neck threateningly. Next the bald one yanked me up beside his cohort and in front of him to guard himself from Daryl. He stood the eight or ten feet away from us, crossbow aimed and ready. He looked more pissed than I had ever seen him. If I had thought he was pissed at me before, I had been wrong. _This_ is what he looked like angry.

"Get off of me!" Glenn demanded fruitlessly, still struggling against the man. I hadn't necessarily given up but I wasn't stupid enough to keep moving when Daryl had his bow aimed at us.

I heard the sound of a car getting closer to where we were that's when I started struggling against him again. It wasn't too hard considering his grip wasn't that tight, no doubt because he was in pain, I had almost wiggled my way out when the one holding Glenn elbowed me in the gut. With a grunt I had doubled over slightly, my efforts lessening again as they began towing us backwards. Glenn's noises of protest only heightened as he realized what was happening.

Before we were outside and in reach of the Walkers I let my rifle slip harmlessly from my grip, they didn't need to be usin' my own goddamn gun against me anytime soon and if worse came to worse than I had my pistol shoved in the back of my jeans. Daryl's eyes narrowed on me dangerously as he watched the gun slip. I don't know if he was angry because I was letting what he thought to be my only defense go or because he was gonna blame this entire shit storm on me, but either way Glenn and I were gettin' kidnapped by a bunch of Vato assholes. I couldn't dwell too much on Daryl and his look as I heard a car door being opened; roughly I was shoved in followed by Glenn and our two captors. Then, the vehicle sped up and left the scene of the crime behind.

Struggling to be sitting on my ass than my face liked I had been shoved in, I twisted my body around to see who the fuck I was dealing with here. There was a driver that had another bandanna over his head, the one that had been beating on Glenn sat in the front seat. The one that had been shot in the ass sat awkwardly between Glenn and I. Glenn looked horrified and pissed. I'm sure I looked the same if not worse considering the fear sneaking up on me.

I was in a car with three assholes. They had already beaten and tried to steal from me and had successfully gotten me into the car. I had Glenn here, but that didn't count for too much considering he was a light weight. I was fucked, and I was hoping in a metaphorical sense, not a literal one.

What was the best choice of action here? They obviously were taking us back somewhere, and the Spanish they were screaming to each other wasn't helping me in the ideas department. The looks the two bandannas kept giving me were making me nervous, causing me to fidget in the worn leather.

It smelt like beans and rice in here and the more I thought about it the quicker the feeling of wanting to vomit became more important to me. The only help it was doing was distracting me from the panic of being in such close quarters with men I didn't trust. It was bad enough with the people I did; this was a whole new obstacle. I had to stay cool; it wasn't just me here, trapped in this car. Glenn was too. I couldn't fuck up and get his sorry ass killed.

"Where are you taking us?" I asked finally, swallowing around the painful lump in my throat. All their eyes snapped to me, before glancing around between each other. It looked like, for a second, that they had actually forgotten we were here. Between their friends moaning and their constant chatter, I wasn't too surprised if they had actually forgotten.

"To the boss." The bandanna finally replied his accent was thick and barely understandable. It reminded me of the accent I had first come upon in Texas. Considering how long we had lived there I was kicking myself for never learning Spanish like my brothers had in high school, instead I had taken French. How fuckin' useless was French? All I knew how to say was hello, goodbye, no, and fuck you in Spanish. I don't think those would be helpin' me here anytime soon, 'cause this group didn't look like the Mexicans I had dealt with in the heart of Texas.

"We're almost there. Be quiet." He snapped at me in the next breathe, a scowl on his face being directed at me before he turned back around to face the road. Something to look forward to then, I thought sardonically.

Looking out of the backseat window I didn't like where we were. It looked like a rundown factory. I'm sure it'd been on the places to avoid even before the dead had start walking and it sure as fuck was now too. I didn't look forward to seeing whatever group lingered inside there, that much was for sure.

The engine was stopped, and the seat pulled down, the driver pulling me out roughly by my arm before I could even protest. A moment later Glenn's head popped out on the other side. Dragging me around the front of the car, the driver grabbed a hold of Glenn's bicep roughly just like he had mine, as the bandanna reached in and helped the bald asshole out of the backseat.

"Move." The bandanna demanded gruffly.

We were lead in through a thin wooden door on the side, its color was questionable and it looked like a gust of wind could blow it down. The thought wasn't nearly as comforting as you may have thought. The inside was barren, old machines remained where the world had left him and empty crates were positioned around strategically. It looked like a makeshift battlefield, I wasn't left too much time to dwell on this as we were rushed across the floor and to another door.

The door let out into what could be considered a loading dock, there was thirty or so feet between it and another brick building and then a set of stairs that led up to a metal door. Roughly we were dragged up to them, and the bandanna reached up and knocked purposely three times, a three second pause between each knock, and then he kicked the door. It must have been a code because sure enough the door swung open to reveal a man similar to the ones escorting us; he had a semi-automatic hanging over his shoulder and a gruff look on his face.

"G ain't gonna be happy, man." He comments glancing at Glenn and I. The bandanna shrugs and moves inside, the grip on my arm is immediately slackened once the driver has dragged us in also.

I can't tell where we are, but the room we're in looks like a laundry room. It had industrial sized washers and dryers on either side of the room. A frown creased my face as we were led through a swinging set of doors; it deepened as an old man in a wheelchair zoomed past us with a grin on his face. The shoulders of the men leading us to wherever we were going seemed to tense as we noticed it. Glancing at Glenn I gave him a 'What the fuck?' face, to which he shrugged. He was just as confused as I was which was sayin' a lot.

"Take them to G." The bandanna demanded to the driver before he and the guy with the arrow in his ass broke off down a hallway, an urgent pace being set as his moans became louder. What a bitch, I thought, it was karma he fuckin' got shot, Christ.

We were led down a maze of hallways and the further in we got, the more I figured out where we were. It was a rest home, if the old people loitering around hadn't been a big enough clue then it was the hallways. Bathrooms equipped for wheelchairs, and bathing room, sinks and maintenance closets lined at least every hallway we walked down. I became more confused the longer we went on. How could a bunch of old people be runnin' the damn show?

Finally, we stopped outside of a dark wooden door. He released Glenn's arm and knocked once on it before letting go of mine too. It made me worry. We must've been meeting the boss now if he suddenly trusted us to not go runnin' off in either goddamn direction.

"Jorge said to bring them here." The man said once the door was opened. I guessed from the stern expression that this was G. He didn't look all that intimidating but I figured that made him all that much more. He was darker skinned than the other ones we had seen and had black hair and a trimmed mustache on his face, like the rest of them he had the short sleeved button up on, a dark under shirt on underneath it.

"What happened?" G asked him, I'm sure he was annoyed with Jorge not bringing us to him himself.

"The baldy got shot in the ass." I commented with a shrug, his dark eyes snapped over to me with annoyance. "He deserved it." I added if Glenn had been beside me I was sure he would've elbowed me in the ribs. I wasn't necessarily handling the situation the way I should have. These people could kill us any second and here I was poking at the leader.

"Why do you say that?" G inquired to me, turning around and going further into the office. It looked just as messy and disarray as every other office I had come across the past few month, paper scattered and items left behind. I could tell it hadn't originally been his; the picture perfect family of four with blonde hair and blue eyes staring back at us through a photo hanging on the wall told me that much. Both Glenn and I were shoved roughly in after him and the door clicked audibly behind us.

Licking my lips anxiously I glanced to Glenn. I guess if I was gonna die today it was better to be honest than an ass kisser, even if this G was makin' me fuckin' nervous. "He beat the shit out of our friend, and then went after us."

"He hit you?"

"I'm sure I have a few bruises to prove it." I replied G nodded thoughtfully at my admission.

"What are your names?" He asked after a breathe of silence.

"I'm Emmy, that's Glenn."

"Well, my apologies, Emmy and Glenn. We only wanted the guns." Than it was pretty damn funny those had gotten left behind then. I was about to make a snarky comment on this, but Glenn seemed to sense it and roughly pinched my arm. With a frown I elbowed him back.

"..so are you gonna kill us or what?" I finally asked.

He laughed, "No, we'll trade you."

"Who says that he'll want to trade?" I ask with suspicion, he seems surer of himself now than I would like.

"Your friends will, I'm sure." I don't like the way he infers that there's more than one; it makes me even more nervous. Have they been watching us? Was this all a plan or what? There's no way they should know that there a more than one, no way at all.

The door banged open a minute later, Jorge and the man that had dropped us off with G were standing there. Jorge had a roll of duct tape in his hand and two black pillow cases. _Fuck_. Coming up behind me he yanked the pack off of my shoulders and let it drop to the ground, grabbing my hands he pulled them behind my back and taped them together.

"You gotta be fuckin' kidding me!" I hissed, glaring at G. Jorge did the same to Glenn's hands before he and his friend came around and duct taped our mouths.

"Don't fight." G suggested easily before the black pillow cases were yanked over our heads. I gritted my teeth as I listened to the Spanish be traded amongst them before I was shoved backwards and spun around. Looks like we were officially fucked. Yay.

"Looks like you're friends are here." G laughed later. I didn't know how long we had been sitting on the crappy ass sofa we had been shoved onto, but it was getting old fast. Not only had I felt something licking my arms not too long ago, but I had a funny feeling we were being watched by more than just G and Jorge.

I was pulled up by my shoulder and shoved in the direction they wanted us to walk; I could hear Glenn tripping over his feet beside me. We were led up stairs, and then I heard a door open. I could feel the breeze against my bare arms and panicked. Where were we? We had been going up stairs so that must mean the roof, that didn't make me feel any better. They could shove us off the fuckin' roof if they wanted to. We were putty in their goddamn hands.

I felt like I could fall at any second, that's how close to the edge of the roof it felt like we were. My boots were hanging off just a little bit and it made me nervous. I was being held tightly by the arm and I could hear voices coming from below us, they were familiar but muffled. I couldn't make out what was being said. Then, the pillowcase was being ripped off of my head. My eyes struggled to adapt to the blinding sunlight, dots danced before my eyes before they finally settled. Looking down I saw Rick and Daryl and whoever the scrawny Mexican happened to be.

For whatever reason I felt better knowing Daryl was actually here. The thought left me unsettled, but I didn't have too much time to diddle on it. I needed to focus on what was happening. This was very much life and death right now.

"I see two options. You come back with Miguel and my bag of guns, and everybody walks. Or you come back locked and loaded. See which side spills more blood." G stated, motioning up to Glenn and I. Daryl looked peeved at the thought and so did Rick. But he had a point, they were on uneven ground. If it was between me and the guns though, I'd prefer they kept the guns.

They were in a silent battle and finally G smirked and glanced up to another rooftop across from us. I didn't bother following his line of sight as the pillow cases were pushed back down over our heads and we were yanked backwards. It was my understanding that we were being taken back to the shitty sofa. I could only hope that this time nothing would lick me. An uncomfortable shiver ran up my spine, making me more nervous. I didn't like not being able to see where we were or what was happening, the fact that I couldn't talk and could barely hear what they were sayin' around us made me that much more uncomfortably jumpy.

"What's your name?" I couldn't necessarily frown with duct tape over my mouth, but my body stiffened at the voice and the question. It sounded too close, too foreign and oddly enough it sounded like an old lady. I knew they had a few of those loitering around here but the fact that they had let them get close to Glenn and I left me questioning what exactly was happening here.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when a wrinkled hand touched my arm, insisting I answer her question. Grunting through the tape I tried to explain I couldn't talk. A second later the case was off of my head, blinking rapidly I saw a sweet little old lady in a mumu sitting beside me on the couch. It looked like we were in the rec room; there was a few other people her age milling around it and playing games at tables. I didn't see any of the Vato's and visibly relaxed.

She frowned at me and moved to touch my face; I flinched away and onto Glenn's shoulder, causing him to tense underneath my weight. Trying again, she moved slower and picked at the edge of the tape before carefully trying to unpeel it from my skin. Every inch she took off burned and I couldn't help the wetness that came to my eyes. When it was finally all off she smiled triumphantly and made the grey tape into a ball in her small hands.

"What's your name?" She asked again, the same curious tone to her voice.

"It's Emmy and he's Glenn." I replied unsurely. I couldn't tell if this was a trick or not, I hoped that it wasn't but it was hard to believe that it was anything but. After all look how they had been treating us for the majority of the time we had been here. Not necessarily the warmest hosts.

"That's pretty. I'm Bessie." I tried to smile at her and her warm tone, but I fell short as one of the Vato's walked in, notching what Bessie was doing on the sofa in the corner. He rushed over with a scowl on his face and I tensed.

"Bessie, what are you doin'?" He asked her, moving to help her off the sofa, but she shied away, leaning closer to me.

"She looks like my granddaughter." She replied factually, smiling up at him.

"She's not, Bessie."

"I know! But she looks sad, she shouldn't be sad." Bessie muttered, her smile turning down into a frown at the thought. She was sweet, that much was for sure, but I didn't want her getting into trouble.

"I'm fine." I found myself saying that a lot lately; I wondered when I'd finally mean it again. Probably the fifth of never.

"Can you untie them? Mister Gilbert and I want to play dominoes with them!" Bessie continued in the next breathe, staring up the man with big eyes. For someone her age she pulled the puppy dog eyes off pretty damn good.

"Bessie-"He sighed, starting to shake his head.

"_Please._" She begged, interrupting the bulky man.

He glanced at me after a deliberate moment of thought, "No funny business." He demanded my head nodded quickly in agreement. He pulled me forward by the shoulder slightly and slid a pocket knife from his pants, slipping it open he cut through the tape. Finally my hands were free and I rubbed at them happily as he moved to Glenn and did the same.

"Do you know how to play dominoes?" She asked once Glenn's bag and tape from his mouth was removed.

Glancing at Glenn I shrugged; hadn't been a talent I ever picked up, but maybe Glenn had. "I used to play with my grandma." Glenn replied sheepishly. Smiling at the picture I laughed, that sounded cuter than it deserved to be.

"Mister Gilbert is fantastic at it!" She gushed, pulling us across the room to a card table with four chairs set up and a little old black man sitting there patiently for Bessie.

His face was calm and relaxed one second, and then the next he was struggling to breathe. When Bessie noticed, she panicked, dropping Glenn and I's hands she rushed across to him. The man that had let us loose followed close behind her. He bent down beside Mister Gilbert and looked like he was asking him questions. Glenn and I slowed to a stop and glanced at each other; what was the fuckin' luck? Finally loose and we get to watch an old man croak.

"Bessie, go get Guillermo." The man told her, she nodded her head quickly and moved as fast as her little legs could carry her.

By the time Guillermo and the asshole that gotten shot with an arrow got back a group had surrounded Mister Gilbert. Glenn and I stood by anxiously as arrow boy rushed forward to help him. He pulled an inhaler out of his hand and helped Mister Gilbert use it.

"What the hell is this?" Rick asked suddenly, causing me to jump beside Glenn. When the fuck had they come in?

"It's an asthma attack." Glenn replied calmly. Perhaps we were too calm for people that had been kidnapped, but between Bessie and Mister Gilbert I'm not sure what else we were supposed to be doing.

"I thought you two we're gettin' eaten by dogs!" T-Dog huffed, an incredulous look on his face as he looked over Daryl at us. Eaten by dogs..? Where had he gotten that odd idea from? The only dogs I had seen was the Chihuahua and a Pomeranian runnin' around. From what I had gotten from one of the woman standing around waitin' for G, apparently that's what had licked me earlier. It calmed me down a bit and after that I was more at ease here than I was at camp. Fuck, there was a bunch of old people, how more harmless could you get?

"You mean them?" I asked, glancing back to the pet bed where the three of them sat. At my cue they chirped their annoying ass bark. I flinched; I never had liked the lil' yippers.

"Can I have a moment alone with you?" Rick asked G, the same look of disbelief on his face. "We were ready to kill ever last one of you!" Rick hissed, louder than was really necessary. From where I stood I could still hear the two of them easily.

"Man, I was just doin' what I had to protect these people." G replied heavily before he began to explain what he was trying to do here. What had happened after the dead started walking. It was after that, that Rick suggested we go to a more private room to talk. G complied easily and led us back to his office.

He explained to us in more detail how he had gotten everything running the way it was. The people they had had to deal with, how the Vato's you saw on nearly every turn were the grandchildren of the residents. They were the muscle and helped kept them safe; scourged to the city to keep them going. G was the leader and he admitted he didn't understand why. Rick gave him a speech that only Rick was capable of giving out like he did.

Rick then offered up a few guns to G. Considering the cause they were working towards, I didn't disagree and neither did anyone else.

After a quick goodbye to Bessie – from Glenn and me – we left the nursing home. We were on our way back to the van when Glenn tried to make a joke. "Admit it; we just come back to Atlanta for the hat." Sure enough, I wouldn't put it past the Officer. He was proudly wearing the accessory on his head; he looked more complete now too.

"Don't tell anyone." Rick laughed.

"Givin' away half our guns and damn ammo!" Daryl finally complained gruffly and I rolled my eyes.

"It wasn't half and besides, they need it." I snapped.

"Bullshit." Daryl grumbled, shaking his head in disgust. "Can't believe you let your sorry ass get snagged either." I scoffed at him; 'cause it was really my goddamn fault. I had had a say in the matter, I guess, but c'mon I wasn't fuckin' superwoman.

"Whatever." I mumbled, trying to ignore him. I was alive, that was all I should focus on, not Daryl Dixon and his stupid attitude.

"I'm just glad you're alive." T-Dog piped up, handing off the rifle to me. Well I had wondered who'd gotten a hold of that, grinning at him I swiped it from his grasp and slung it back over my shoulders.

Crawling back through the hole in the fence, we all paused. The van was missing.

"Merle," Rick says. My eyes widen in a panic. Could it really be? I'd nearly forgotten the asshole was somewhere in the city bleeding out; G and his crew had proved to be a distraction, that much was for sure.

"Gonna be goin' back to camp with vengeance," Daryl predicted, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. The look left me unsettled. I didn't like that thought. Merle goin' for revenge wasn't something I wanted to hear. Neither was the things Daryl was hinting at.

"Shit." I muttered, glancing around.

"We better hurry." Rick advised, glancing at us. Hell yeah, who knew when the fucker took it and who knew the mayhem he was unleashing on the camp. It wasn't going to be pretty, no, not at all. We were all fucked if he got there first. If he was already there. The camp was undefended, sure Shane, Jim and Morales, but considering how feral Merle could be, that wasn't gonna be doin' them much good.

"Hope you can run a few miles," I commented, glancing at Daryl. He snorted at the accusation that he couldn't, but considering the way I had watched him smoke away his last few packs, I didn't think he had too good of lungs. Not that I did either, but that was besides the point, 'cause Daryl was the only one the was gonna be talkin' Merle off the goddamn ledge. He needed to get there first if we wanted our asses saved.


	13. Twelve

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello there my dolls! :)

This installment is sorta...blah to me. I don't like it all that much and I just don't know, maybe you guys will. I'm excited about the CDC. There's so much that's gonna be covered; it may end up being split into two installments. :D Then it's the brother chapter! Who's excited? :)

I love Hazardous Hollz, melodytaylor85, Indigo87, Dalonega Noquisi, Comidia Del Arte, and Nelle07. Why you ask; 'cause they're fuckin' awesome and left me reviews! I owe each of you like my first born. :p  
>Juggelet135 is awesome 'cause they added this to their alerts. :)<br>My life is awesome 'cause the sweet smelling one and core013 adding this to their favs. :D

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>Don't get me started on what it means to be alive<br>You're lying to yourself and then you still act surprised  
>Cause your scared, cant come to terms with what you are<br>The wolves in sheep's clothing will only lead so far.  
>You'll wait and they'll go.<br>Cause in the end, we all end up alone.  
>So just wait you'll know.<em>

_Forget everything just for tonight we'll sing like everyone when they're alone_  
><em>Cause I've been waiting for tonight to sing whoa, whoa<em>

_I rely on myself just making sure that was clear_  
><em>I'm not in need of your crutches<em>  
><em>I faced all my fears<em>  
><em>And I won what I knew I could have<em>  
><em>Life is not a punch card; make the best of what you have<em>

_But don't wait, just go_  
><em>And when you find yourself please let me know<em>  
><em>It's not too late, just let go<em>

_Forget everything just for tonight we'll sing like everyone when they're alone_  
><em>Cause I've been waiting for tonight to sing whoa, whoa<em>  
><em>Let's believe that if we all stand together<em>  
><em>We're a force that can shake the whole world<em>  
><em>For once I'm doing something right when we say whoa, whoa<em>

_In the end it's not about what you have_  
><em>In the end it's all about where you wanna go<em>  
><em>And roads you take to help you get there,<em>  
><em>I hope you think that's fair<em>

_This Is The House That Doubt Built by A Day To Remember_

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><p><strong>Twelve<strong>

My lungs ached. My legs burned. I felt like they were going to give out on me at any second. I had run track in high school, but after the past decade I wasn't made for running such a long distance any more. Merle taking the damn van was turning into a bigger inconvenience than I had thought. After a few miles I think all of us – Daryl included – were ready to kill Merle with our bare hands.

Glenn had veered off from us before we had gotten past the city limits; he was gonna grab Morales' car that we had left behind and meet up with at some point on the road back. At this point I wasn't even sure if he was coming back. Maybe he had gotten eaten, maybe he had run into trouble, I really didn't know. All I knew was that I felt like I was dying.

"Where is his sorry yellow ass!" Daryl huffed between heavy breaths, eyes narrowed in directly on me. Like it was my goddamn fault that Glenn hadn't showed up yet, it so fuckin' wasn't. Though I must admit I was getting angry with myself for not going with him, not only would I have been able to be speeding down the highway right now but I wouldn't have to be listening to Daryl bitch. He wasn't having a huge problem like T-Dog was, but you could tell this wasn't a walk in a park for him.

"Oh, shut the fuck up! He's gonna get here!" I panted, rolling my eyes at him. Rick and T-Dog were taking the more silent approach to the entire goddamn situation. It was pissing me off more than it probably should have.

"He better!"

"Or what? Gonna shoot him in the ass? Not much of a threat if he doesn't get here!" I hissed.

"Would the two of ya'll chill?" T-Dog asked with a sigh.

"He's here, see." Rick commented in relief a moment later, slowing to a jog and motioning over his shoulder to the vehicle moving towards us at high speed in the distance. Well, color me happy. It was about fuckin' time.

When the car pulled closer to us, we all piled in quickly. Glenn had a nervous look on his face and didn't waste any more time before he went speeding back down the road.

"What took you so damn long?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, shifting in the backseat slightly. It was claustrophobic being shoved in the backseat between T-Dog and Daryl. They were bulky and sweaty and seriously infringing on my personal space.

"It was out of gas." Glenn replied with a shrug of his shoulders, glancing up at the rearview mirror to steal a glance at me. The time gap was suddenly just a lil' more understandable. Syphoning gas was a bitch and it'd never been Glenn's forte. More often than not I had ended up with the dirty end of that stick when we were gettin' gas for the Mustang and the other vehicles back at camp.

"Gonna be sundown by the time we get there." Rick sighed, looking out of the window wearily up at the sky. I couldn't believe we'd been gone that long, but considering our mix up with the Vato's I guess it was to be expected. The idea of returning in the dark to whatever mess Merle had waiting for us left me nervous.

"You think he's there already?" I asked quietly.

"Fuck yeah; he's on a goddamn mission." Daryl muttered, shifting away from me. Frowning over at him I wasn't left as assured as I had wanted to be. I knew there was no bright side to this, but I didn't want to believe that Merle was there. I could picture it almost perfectly, but the thought of Merle terrorizing everyone more than he already had was more distressing than I wanted.

"Will you be able to talk him down?" Rick asked, directing his question toward the younger Dixon. Daryl's face twitched in thought at the question, his eyes remained passive as he stared out of the rolled down window in the backseat and at the scenery moving quickly by just outside of the metal trap.

"Should be, but I ain't gonna guarantee it."

Sighing Rick nodded his head, "That's all I can ask for."

The winding trail up to the camp wasn't taken with much precaution. Glenn hit the turns sharply and nearly sent us over the edge on more than one occasion. None of us bothered to complain; we needed to get there and fast, whatever means Glenn found necessary were pre-approved by the lot of us. It didn't bother me as much as it would've normally if it hadn't been so fuckin' dark.

As we got closer and closer to the camp, we all noticed something. The sound of guns firing off. The constant sound. Not just one or two, but an increasing amount that made it sound like a war was going on.

"You better drive a lil' faster there, Chink. Ain't gonna be anythin' to save if you don't." Daryl commented wryly.

The car revved up as a look was shared up ahead by Glenn and Rick. Merle must be there. And Merle must be pissed. It sounded like they were fighting back; so maybe there was hope after all. _Maybe_.

"I'm _Korean_." Glenn repeated, throwing a disdainful look over his shoulder at Daryl. The act was useless, no matter how many times he'd tell him that, it wasn't going to matter. Daryl didn't give a flyin' fuck what he was, 'cause in his opinion he was a Chink. End of story.

"Who cares? I could be walkin' faster than this!" I muttered in annoyance. We needed to be there already.

We were about to go up the hill, just a mile or two more until we were there. Morales' piece of shit Jeep, chose that precise moment to sputter. An annoying noise that wouldn't let up. I didn't know much about cars aside from the fact that you put gas in them, they move and to check the oil and tires every once in a while. But even I knew this wasn't a good sign.

"I thought you said you put gas in it!" Rick admonished. He had the most to lose out of the group of us and I guess the fact was finally dawning on him.

"Fuck it. We can run from here!" I shouted over Rick's muttering as the car came to a complete stop. Not thinking twice about it, I was crawling over Daryl's lap and flinging myself out of the car before anyone could blink.

"Well c'mon!" I hissed as I set into a jog. I could hear four sets of car doors slam shut ad their feet crunching on the worn gravel behind me not a few minutes later.

The closer we got, the noisier it was. The gunshots sounded louder now and on top of them I could hear screaming. My heart pounded in my chest as I pushed my legs to move faster. Rick must have had an adrenaline rush, because he was tearing past me a moment later.

Once we reached the camp, I was shell shocked. Merle was not the cause to their distress, no; Merle would've been a far better option. There were Walkers, _everywhere_. Attacking and eating and causing a horrible case of chaos to envelop what we thought had been our safe haven in this hell.

Jim and Morales were handling business with bats; silent and deadly they seemed to be handling their fair share of the nuisances. Shane had Lori, Carl, Sophia and Carol behind him and was firing off at any Walker that got too close. It looked like everyone was making it to the Winnebago.

Rick was the first to react and started firing off rounds into the heads of any strays that Shane or the other hadn't got to yet. Rick had passed out guns to all of us on the quick jog we had made up the last leg of the hill and once we understood what was going on, none of us hesitated in putting the bullets to good use.

Once Daryl and T-Dog ran out of bullets they turned to using the butt of the shotguns as bludgeoning tools and bashed in the heads of anything that dared to get too close.

My thoughts were in complete disarray as I tried to focus on just firing off rounds into anything that looked dead. My fight or flight instinct was telling me to do different and it was hard to fight against it.

Glenn and I were sticking close together and once the shotgun was empty I passed it over my shoulder to Glenn and started firing off the rounds still left in my rifle. It seemed like there was a never ending stream of Geeks. They just weren't disappearing. You shot one, two more came out of the woodworks. It was making me uneasy and the continuous firing of rounds in close range was making my ears ring painfully. I felt like I was in a wind tunnel; everything muffled and exaggerated.

By the time the last one finally hit the ground, Glenn was a blubbering mess beside me. Eyes wide and darting all around us he gripped the two guns close to his chest. Squeezing my eyes shut against the scene I finally lowered my rifle. This wasn't what I had expected to come back to. None of us had expected _this_. It was bloodshed and massacre.

The only redeeming moment of it all was Rick and his family being reunited all over again.

When I woke up this morning, this wasn't what I had expected to encounter by the end of the day. I had expected to find at least a dead Dixon on the roof of that building and for all my problems to in a since be put to rest, for at least a while. Not this. Definitely not this.

"Is everyone alright?" Shane called out, gun still at the ready he glanced around the camp.

"Amy's bit!" Andrea sobbed from the ground, holding the head of her little sister in her lap as she glanced over at the man. The two words had an impact on all of us. Amy was dead in most senses of the world. Now all she had left to do was to suffer. The fever would burn her out in a matter of hours and then, then Amy would be wanting to take a bite out of the rest of us.

"We - we have to do something!" Andrea continued with tears falling down her face, looking between Shane and Amy. But there was nothing we could do aside from putting a bullet in her head and putting her out of her misery. That's the only way Amy could be saved.

"I remember my dream now; why I dug those holes." Jim commented somberly. It sounded right there like we had missed an awful lot, but I couldn't stop the chill from sweeping up my back. Jim had dug holes and it looked like we were going to need a lot of them.

* * *

><p>The night had been painful. A never ending parade of sobbing children and woman. The smell that permeated the air in the city, was now lingering out here with us. For some of them, it was the first they had smelt it. For others, it left more of a lasting impression on their lives than they would've liked.<p>

Rick sent the women and children back to their tents once he and Shane had cleared all of them. I ended up loaning my own out to Sophia and Carol. Ed had been found chewed on and ready to turn on us inside of that nylon hell.

Andrea hadn't moved from her spot, cradling Amy, in front of the Winnebago since Amy had stopped moving. The idea that just a few feet away at all times there was a potential Walker waiting to munch on me, left me extremely unsettled. The longer it went without being fixed, the more it seemed to bother everyone else too. Except Rick, he just always had to know what the other person was going through. Always had to advocate for whatever cause was in the air. At this point, that quality was becoming extremely annoying and I had a feeling it was coming to its end.

By the time the sun was coming up over the horizon, Rick had gone off to call to that friend that was gonna be following him into Atlanta. At that point, Glenn and I were sorting bodies. It wasn't a job I wanted, and I wasn't even too sure how I had ended up with it. It made me uncomfortable to be dragging bodies back and forth; my stomach was on a constant climb up my throat. If I was keeping score, my stomach had won four times so far. Not something to be proud of considering the iron stomach all Sinclair's supposedly had.

"Take a break." Dale chided, stopping my constant back and forth between piles with a hand on my shoulder. I wanted to flinch away from him, but the only strength I had left me standing there beside him. He had been busying Carl and Sophia with making breakfast for the last half hour and by a glance over my shoulder at the dying fire the two children sat in front of, staring at the pot of food hanging over it, I guessed that task was done and he wanted me to eat.

I was close to agreeing to whatever was in that pot when Daryl walked up with the pick axe and swung it into the skull of the Walker lying at our feet. With a quick jerk he pulled the sharp edge out of its head, a trail of brain and blood came with it. Well, there went whatever appetite I had left.

"Never mind." Dale muttered, shaking his head he handed me the bottle of water he had in his hand. Taking it gratefully, I tried to smile but it came out as a deeper frown as Glenn and T-Dog began tugging the body to the burn pile.

When Rick came back he immediately noticed that the Amy issue hadn't been solved, I wasn't interested enough to eavesdrop on him and Shane sharing words about it. But a moment later he was purposely walking over there towards her. One minute she was perfectly calm, or as calm as you could be cradling the dead body of your sister, and then the next she had her gun pointed at Rick.

"I know how the safety works." Andrea told him easily, no quiver in her voice at all. The calmness of her startled me. I had expected her to be shaking or something, not the epitome of calm.

"Alright, okay, I'm sorry." Rick said, his hands up in surrender as he backed away slowly. She lowered it once he was a safe distance away. Shane looked peeved that Rick had let her get away with it and by the look he was giving his friend wasn't being too silent about it either.

"Ya'll can't be serious! Lettin' that girl hamstring us. That dead girl is a tickin' time bomb!" Daryl complained, having also watched the interesting exchanged between the two of them. He had a point and we all knew it, fuck we had been trying to solve it since last night, but Andrea wouldn't move her scrawny ass.

"What do you suggest?" Rick asked.

"Take the shot. Clean, in the brain - from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance." Daryl replied, motioning between himself and where Andrea sat.

"No." Lori started. "For God's sake, let her be." I scoffed and rolled my eyes. That most definitely wasn't the option we should be choosing here. But Rick quieted down and shrugged his shoulder when Daryl looked at him.

"Just keep that in mind when Amy tries to eat us; I'll make sure to throw you right at her, so we can just _let her be_." I commented flippantly with the roll of my eyes.

Lori's hard gaze shifted up to me and I made a face at her before turning on my heel and going back to Glenn. She was bein' fuckin stupid and Rick was too, just for listening to his wife. I wondered for just a brief second if he'd still be listening to her if he knew what her and his 'best friend' had been getting up to this the world went to shit. I'd wager he probably wouldn't.

"C'mon Jim-Bo, we go some work to do." Daryl advised, following after me and passing the somewhat still Jim. He looked a little sick, but it wasn't something you wouldn't expect considering the night we had all had.

Dropping the pick axe, Daryl moved to help Morales drag one of the more quiet former members of the camp towards the fire pit. From a quick glance to Glenn, I could already tell he wasn't going to like this. But I wasn't going to help him advocate. Bitten was bitten. There was no in between.

"Hey! What are you guys doing?" Glenn demanded, trying to get in front of the two men. "Our people don't go over there!"

"Why?" Daryl drawled. "Infected is infected."

"We don't burn our people, do you understand? They go in that row _over there_!" Glenn defended; he looked pained over the entire situation. Morales and Daryl glanced at each other over Glenn's outburst before reluctantly agreeing and towing the body off in the other direction.

"Reap what you sow!" Daryl shouted as they dropped the body.

"Just shut up, man!" Morales snapped.

"Ya'll left my brother to dead – you had this comin'!" My heart clenched, was this really karma? Was this what I deserved for leaving Merle up there? Or was it just the beginning? I didn't like that thought, not one bit. Merle was the one that had done us all wrong, not us. We had only been protecting ourselves, or we had to begin with. Maybe I had been the one to put this nail in our coffin.

"You okay, Em?" Jim asked from beside me.

"Yeah. C'mon, let's get this shit done." I replied, motioning down to the body at our feet. It was a certified Walker and was goin' straight for the fire. No if, ands, or buts about it.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked again, bending at the waist to heft up the things feet as it grabbed it at its arms. It was one heavy son of a bitch!

"Just fuckin' peachy." I muttered with a grunt, trying not to lose hold of its arms. Swinging the body into the fire, I let out a breath. We still had a lot more to go and I didn't really want to think about how twenty or so Geeks was gonna smell burning. Ten smelt bad enough.

Glancing at Jim, I frowned. There was a bite sized blood mark on his shirt. Did Jim get bit? The very thought made me panic that much more. "What happened?" I asked him, motioning to his stomach. Eyes wide he glanced down to his shirt then back up at me, he took longer to answer than was really necessary. My suspicions grew.

"I got some on me, that's all." He finally replied.

"It looks fresh." I commented, reaching my hand out towards it, but he flinched away. He was bit, wasn't he? He was lookin' shitty to begin with, but this was just confirming my suspicions. Fuck.

"_Did you get bit_?" I whispered fiercely to him. He couldn't be. He couldn't.

"No, just scratched. Don't worry about it."

"Show me." I demanded.

"Don't tell!" Jim pleaded, wide eyes going up to meet mine. How could I not? One was bad enough, now we had two to worry about.

"Fever?" I asked softly, he nodded his head as I shed one of the leather gloves on my hands. Reaching out again he finally let me touch him. His forehead was burning up. Even being outside in this heat wouldn't be a cause to that. There was no way around it. Jim was bitten. We were fucked.

Maybe this was karma for leaving Merle up there…

"What's wrong?" Jacqui asked, walking up to us. Her eyes were worried as she watched me touch Jim's forehead as I was. I knew Jacqui was smart. I was sure she already had an idea; the glance down to his stomach probably confirmed it.

"Are you bit?" She hissed. By the guilty looks on both of our faces, she got her answer. "Jim's bitten!" She screamed in the next breathe, grabbing a hold of my arm and towing me quickly backwards and away from Jim.

Everyone immediately reacted to Jacqui's shout of death. The distance Jacqui was putting between us and him kept getting wider as the seconds ticked on. I was too paralyzed with fear of what was happening to fight against the shorter woman. Everyone was surrounding poor Jim in a threatening circle, whatever weapon they had on them at the ready.

Daryl came up on the side of us, "Show us." At his words, Jim quickly grabbed the abandoned shovel that had sat a few feet away from him. The equally violent action seemed to cause even more unrest amongst everyone.

"Put it down!" Shane demanded as T-Dog came up behind him and grabbed him tightly by his arms, causing the shovel to drop to the ground.

"I'm okay." Jim kept repeating as Daryl rushed over and lifted Jim's shirt up, revealing the bloody bite mark on his abdomen. Once it was confirmed that Jim had gotten bit, both Daryl and T-Dog backed away from him.

"Jim-" I tried. I felt bad for him. We hadn't known each other all that long and I hadn't talked to him as much as I probably should have, but he was an okay guy and actually sorta funny when he actually got comfortable with you. He had a lot on his shoulders though; he thought he was a coward for escaping from Geeks when his family was being eaten. I'd always disagreed with him that was survival, nothing else. I'd never seen him act cowardice once since we'd gotten him back to camp either, I seemed to always be telling him that, trying to dislodge the idea that he was a coward from his head.

"I'm okay." He said again, beginning to repeat the two words over and over again. He didn't stop until Rick ha directed him to go and sit beside the Winnebago – he needed to keep distance between of us apparently.

"I say we put a pick axe in his head and the dead girls; just be done with it." Daryl suggested to the group, excluding Jim and Andrea. I blanched at the idea; he wasn't dead yet, he wasn't a threat until he was dead, right?

"We can't just fuckin' kill him. He ain't dead yet." I objected from between T-Dog and Morales.

"So we're supposed to wait for the two of 'em to start gettin' hungry then?" Daryl continued, eyes narrowed at the very thought.

"Is that what you'd want done to you, huh?" Shane asked in offence. Well, maybe he wasn't too stupid after all.

"Yeah, and I'd thank you as you did it." Daryl replied.

"I had to say it - I never thought I'd say it, but maybe Daryl has a point." Dale commented.

"Jim's not a monster, Dale. He's not some rabid dog you just put down. He's a person and he's sick." Rick snapped.

"I wasn'-"

"No, we go down that road and we won't be coming back from it. Where do we draw the line?"

"I say the lines pretty clear. Zero tolerance when it comes to Walkers or the bitten." Daryl responded factually.

"What if we could save him? I heard the CDC was working on a cure." Rick proposed hopefully. My heart fell. The CDC was a bust. We all knew that.

"Heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell." Shane interrupted, shaking his head at the idea. From what I understood, he'd know best. He and Lori had been on their way to the CDC when they started bombing Atlanta.

"What if the CDC is still up and running?" Rick asked.

"It's not. That pipe dream died a long time ago." I stated. It hadn't even lasted a day, if we wanted to be honest. The moment people had started flooding in, we had been doomed. The more people the easier infection spread and the easier the infection spread meant that we became outnumbered.

"Why? If there's any government left, they'd protect the CDC with everything they've got. I say it's the best shot; shelter, medicine, food." Rick protested.

"I want those things too, Rick. But, if those things exist, it's at the army base. Fort Benning."

Fort Benning, huh? That's where Shane thought we were our safest? Well, I couldn't disagree too much there. It was still the plan and now was as good as time as any to get there.

"That's a hundred miles in the other direction." Lori commented.

"That's right. But it's out of the hot zone. Listen to me, if that place is still up and running; it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there." Shane continued, trying to push the idea into their heads.

"The military was on the front lines of this thing. They got over run. We saw that! The CDC is our best choice." Rick argued.

I shook my head, "Fort Benning. That's where it'd be safest. The CDC is just a death wish."

"How do we know that Fort Benning isn't either?" Rick asked.

"My brother. He was stationed there. That's where I was heading when Glenn hit my car. It's safe. I know it is. They were locking the doors when I talked to Zane. He told me to get my ass there, but the city was already starting to shut down so I couldn't make it. If we want protection, we go there."

"That was what, two months ago? Who knows if that's still true?" My shoulders dropped at Rick's words. I didn't fuckin' know, but it was one thing I was still hoping. It was the idea of my family being out there somewhere and I couldn't let go of it yet. He had found his, so why couldn't I find mine?

"You go lookin' for Aspirin. Do what you need to do and I'll do what I need to." Daryl stated, moving quickly with his pick axe raised in Jim's direction. Rick and Shane immediately reacted. Rick had his pistol aimed at the back of his head and Shane rent to disarm him.

"We don't kill the living. Now go on." Shane told the angry redneck. Growling at the two of them Daryl stormed away from them. Rick then helped Jim up and led him up into the Winnebago. It really wasn't too safe out here in the open.

"I'm sorry, Em." T-Dog muttered after everyone had dispensed back to the various jobs around camp.

"Why? It's not like I have to jump on the CDC bandwagon, I could still head to Fort Benning." I knew I wouldn't though, actual people was gonna be a far and in between sorta thing now, and I'd never been too good on my own. Even if the chance of my brothers bein' at Fort Benning was an option, I knew I wouldn't by myself, not after everything that had happened.

"You can't just go off by yourself." T-Dog told me, louder than was really necessary. Dale – who was sitting beside Carol on a backseat pulled out of a car – looked up and over at us. Like normal when he sensed a bad idea on my brain, he gave me that narrowed eyes look.

Sighing, "Would you stop lookin' at me like that, old man."

"Don't you go running off, Emily." Dale demanded sternly. "We need you."

For what? I wanted to ask. Most of the time I didn't even think I was actually contributing anything to these people. Sure I did random things here and there, but considering how fruitless most of that looked now I didn't see the point. The only ties I had really were to Glenn, T-Dog, Jac and Jim. Maybe Daryl on a good day. Jim was dying and well, who knew about the rest of 'em.

How much easier would it be to just leave and try to find my brothers? The fact that I may find something other than my big brothers was what left me undecided. Was it better to not know at all or to face a truth that I wasn't ready for?

"Relax. You're stuck with me for a while." I sighed.

"Good." Dale returned with an easy smile.

"Look," Carol said, motioning to the Winnebago. It looked like our fallen blonde friend was waking up. As Andrea talked to her, soft words that couldn't be heard this far away; I noticed that she was picking the same gun she had pulled on Rick up from the dirt. Once her goodbyes were said, the gun was fired and Amy was officially gone. For once, I felt bad for Andrea. I nearly died from the thought.

After the issue with Amy was settled, Rick had told us that we were going to have a funeral for everyone fallen. Apparently we were going to be putting those holes that Jim had dug to good use. All the bodies from the people of the camp were loaded into the back of Daryl's pick up. He drove it up the short hill to where Rick and Shane were finishing up the holes while the rest of us followed on foot.

The last funeral I had been to was my mommas. We had gone back to Savannah for it. All the people I'd grown up with in Georgia had showed up. Even a few of her friends from Kings County had showed up at the church. Everyone that had come laid purple magnolias on her casket before she was lowered into the ground.

My cousin Ophelia had sung some song momma had loved. My brothers told stories of growing up in Savannah and how different momma had been when she was younger. Considering the eight year gap between me and the triplets it had been a different look on her. I had hung around in the back the entire time. We had just lost daddy the year before and now this. I hadn't been too sure what to do with myself and funerals had never really been my thing.

It felt like forever ago that I had been standing in that cemetery watching her disappear into the ground. I hadn't known half these people that well and I didn't love 'em like I loved my momma, but their death, them missing from this world now, it left me just as unsettled as the last time.

I was the last one up the hill, but I could easily notice the strife between Rick and Daryl. If you had merely listened to Daryl mutter to himself the whole damn time he had been loading bodies with Glenn, then you'd get he was pissed about the makeshift funeral. He thought it was breaking the rules, and before Glenn had gotten involved we were going to be burning everyone; just in case, Shane had told us to begin with.

Then the next time the matter was being dealt with, we were haulin' their asses up the hill and dumping 'em in graves. I understood Daryl's upset; it wasn't a good idea to just leave 'em there like that. But there wasn't too much to do, everyone else seemed to agree with Rick on the matter. Even Shane at this point.

"We need time to mourn. We need to bury our dead. That's what people do." Lori told us. But we weren't even people anymore, were we? We lived like animals and we treated each other like them too on the best of days. Sure, there were exceptions, but for the most part we were all savage.

Amy was the last one to be put into a grave. Andrea was adamant about being able to do it herself. Dale tried to help her once she was in the hole, but she had demanded that he let her do it by herself. It was sad watching her, even if I had a strong constant dislike for her; I still acknowledged the pain she was in. I knew I wouldn't be as strong as her if that was one of my brothers. I had to give her props for that. I'd probably be a blubbering mess, just sitting somewhere. Family was all you had and when you lost a part of that, what else did you have left? _Nothing_. Andrea was officially alone now. The thought that I could be too without even knowing it made me sick to my stomach.

"C'mon. Get in." Daryl demanded gruffly from the inside of his truck. We were supposed to be going back to camp. Whatever mourning Lori had though was necessary had been short and bitter. Dale had said some prayer from the top of his head for those fallen and that'd been that.

Raising my eyebrows at him I carefully opened the door, "You gonna explain yourself?" I asked climbing in.

"I was offerin' you a ride. I thought that was obvious." He replied, looking at me like I was crazy. I rolled my eyes at him. I knew he knew what I meant. It'd been bothering me all day, but there weren't a lot of opportunities to talk when you were draggin' bodies back and forth across the camp.

"Shut up. You know what I mean."

"Don't think I do…" Daryl said lazily.

"You're a pain in the ass." I stated. It felt like he was putting a special effort in at this point.

"You are too."

"Wow. Make a girl feel special. Compliments will get you everywhere."

"How'd you think I got this far?" He drawled with a lazy smirk.

"I figured the squirrels did that for you, not your knack for being a pain in the ass."

"They helped too." Oh, I'm sure they did.

"You're gonna talk to me sooner or later." I commented steadily as he pulled the truck to a stop.

"Really now?"

"Oh yeah, even if it's on your goddamn death bed, we are so talking." I told him, crawling out of the truck and slamming the door shut. "You can bet your stupid ass squirrels on that."

"They ain't stupid!" He shouted after me.

"_Whatever_!" Stupid squirrel hunter.

Glancing around I saw Lori and Carol coming out of the Winnebago. "Hey, how's Jim?" I asked jogging over to them.

"He's getting worse. Hallucinating." Carol replied softly.

"Shit." I muttered glancing back to the rolling house. "How much longer do you think?"

"Few hours. He's burning up." Carol told me. Just a few hours? Well, hopefully Rick would drag him back to the CDC and find it actually working before then. I really didn't want Jim to die. He was a good guy and super fuckin' useful when it came to cars. We needed him, we really did.

"He was saying he wanted to talk to you earlier. So now's the time." Carol added.

"Thanks." I muttered before letting them go back to whatever they had been trying to do to begin with.

I didn't know why Jim wanted to see me. We never talked about anything important aside from when he was trying to teach me something about engines. Though he had given up on that weeks ago. It left me feeling uncomfortable when I figured this was his death bed he was currently on. Whatever he had to tell me would be the last.

Rick passed me on the way in and had a uncomfortable look on his face. I meant to ask him what had happened but he moved away too quickly for me to catch him. Looked like I was going in blind then.

"Hey." I greeted with a smile, leaning against the wall slightly.

Jim was laid up in bed, a white pot beside him. He looked like shit and the bandages on his stomach looked like they were bleeding through. So he was getting worse then. I don't know what else I expected to find. It was interesting though considering that when Bo had gotten bit he had reacted so differently. I was glad Bo had gone out the way he had instead of like this; it would've been terrifying to watch him laid up in bed, the fever killing him slowly with each ticking second.

"Hey, Emmy."

"So I was told you wanted to talk?"

"I'm worried about you." He stated point blank. I frowned. Why was he worried about me? If anything he should be worried about himself and if we were going to the CDC or not. He shouldn't be worried about me; I should be at the very bottom of that list quite frankly.

"..why? I'm pretty good considering."

"You're gonna leave."

"I ain't leavin', Jim."

"No, not right now," He said, shaking his head. "Later. You're gonna. You think you need to find your brothers, but you don't. You need to stay."

"What are you talking about?"

"You _can't_ leave, you'll die. He needs you."

Frowning I tilted my head to the side, "You're just dreamin' shit up, Jim. Don't worry about it."

"Promise me you won't leave."

Sighing at him, I nodded, what was the harm? I didn't plan on it anyway so it wasn't like I was lying, even if I was totally lost on what he was trying to communicate here. The fever must be really gettin' to him.

"Promise." He demanded.

"I promise, Jim. I won't leave."

He relaxed against the bed at my words and I patted myself on the back for calming him down, if only a little. He still looked wired but the crazed look in his eyes had died down a little bit. It was sad he was gonna be goin' out this way. Even if Rick got him to the CDC, at this point - I didn't think it'd be enough.

"Get some rest." I told him, smiling softly at him before backing out of the narrow door and turning back around. It was troubling to stand there and listen to him, to watch him. He looked half dead as it was. Looked like he was tricked out on something with the dilated eyes. Sounded bat shit crazy too.

When I popped out of the Winnebago, mostly everyone was crowded back around the campfire. By the serious look on everyone's face, it looked like decision time. CDC or Fort Benning. What a choice.

Walking over and settling into the pop up chair I glanced across the empty fire pit at Andrea, she was curled around one of Amy's blankets in another pop up chair. I couldn't tell if she was asleep or not but her eyes were closed and for once she wasn't talking, so I wasn't gonna complain.

"I've uh- I've been thinking about Rick's plan. There are no guarantees, I'm the first to admit that. I've known this man a long time and I trust his instinct. I say the most important thing here is sticking together. Those of you that agree; we leave first thing in the morning." Shane told the group of us.

So, that's how easy the choice was gonna be then, huh? Either tag along or go your own way. Simple enough if you wanted to be honest about it. Guess I was goin' to the CDC then. I figured if the CDC came to be a bust and most of us escaped that hell with our lives, we could always head to Fort Benning next.

* * *

><p>"Everyone listen up; those of you with CB's, we're gonna be on channel forty. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Those of you that don't have a CB and have a problem, you're gonna honk your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?" Shane explained to us.<p>

It looked like mostly everyone was gonna be goin' to the CDC, aside from Morales and his family. They were heading to Alabama to find what family they thought they still had there. Morales said it was best for his family and maybe it was. Maybe they'd be safer heading that way, who knew. All I know was that I was gonna miss the kids and that gun that Rick handed off to him at some point.

"Fuckin' stupid." Daryl muttered again, chewing on his thumbnail as Lori said goodbye to Miranda and Sophia and Eliza hugged each other. I noticed from the corner of my eye, Eliza's prized doll being passed to the smaller blonde girl.

"Shut up, Dixon." T-Dog told him.

"You know where to find us if you change your mind." Rick told Morales.

"What makes you think _our_ odds are any better?" Shane asked rhetorically. "C'mon."

Walking to the Mustang I glanced over the top of it at Glenn was leaning against the passenger side. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Can I ride with you?"

"Though you were gonna be in the Winnebago."

"Andrea is still crying…" Glenn explained, trailing off to emphasize his point. Well, I couldn't know him there. I wouldn't wanna be trapped in there with her either.

"Fine, get in." I laughed at him.

"Awesome!" He grinned flinging the passenger door open and shoving his pack into the back seat before following it in.

"Hey, Dixon!" I shouted, calling out to the redneck before he got into the cab of his truck. Everyone looked on at with my interest and his quirked eyebrow told me to hurry the fuck up. "We're talkin' when we get there." He scoffed at me but nodded his head before ducking inside of the truck.

Jacqui, Jim and Dale were in the Winnebago. T-Dog and at the last minute Andrea were in the church van we dragged back a couple weeks ago. Carol, Sophia, Carl, Lori and Rick were in Carol's old Jeep. Shane was in his Wrangler and Daryl was in his truck, Merle's motorcycle strapped in the back.

Starting the Mustang up, we followed after Carol's Jeep as the caravan pulled out of the lot. Morales went right and the Winnebago that was at the front of the line went left. Thus began the drive to Atlanta and the CDC. Where hopefully it'd be a helluva lot safer than it was here.

About twenty minutes of driving later, the Winnebago fizzled out. The belt was fried and we were sorta fucked if you wanted to get technical.

"I told you it wasn't going to last." Dale chided to Rick as the front end of the Winnebago smoked. "I said I needed the one from the cube van." Well, we all knew where that piece of machinery was.

"Can you jury-rig it?"

"That's all its been from the start. More duct tape than hose." Dale replied, shaking his head. "And I'm out of duct tape." Of course he was, what else could you possibly expect? Thousands of can openers the man had but not enough fuckin' duct tape to last us. What kind of fuckery was that? Geesh.

"I see something up ahead." Shane commented, binocular attached to his eyes. "Gas station if we're lucky."

"Ya'll! It's Jim!" Jacqui exclaimed in a panic, rushing out of the Winnebago. "I don't think he can take anymore."

"Rick, hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead and see what I can find."

"Yeah." Rick replied, turning to go inside the Winnebago.

"I'll come too. I'll cover you." T-Dog volunteered. Shane nodded his head in acceptance and turned away to head to his Jeep.

"Keep an eye out." Shane advised over his shoulder. "We'll be right back."

"It's what he says he wants." Rick told us later after Shane and T-Dog had returned. He was referring to Jim who was demanding that we leave him here to die. The side of the bloody road and that's where he wanted us to leave him. Rick actually looked like he was agreeing with the plan. I guess it had its finer points because it's what Jim was telling us he wanted, but how could we just leave him here to die? All by himself? How was that even an option?

"And he's lucid?" Carol asked.

"He seems to be. I would say yes." Rick replied honestly.

"Back at camp and I said Daryl may be right, you shut me down. You misunderstood me then. I would never go along with callously killing another man. I was just going to suggest that we ask Jim what he wanted us to do. I think we have our answer." Dale explained empathetically to us.

"We just leave him here? Take off? I'm not sure I could live with that." Shane admitted.

"It's not your call." Lori commented. Did she have a point? I guess it was, it was the same as killing yourself basically. It hadn't bothered me one bit when I knew Bo had gone ahead and shot himself once I left. How was this any different? He was choosing his own terms. He was trying to protect us too. It wouldn't be long until he was turning on us all.

Rick and Shane carefully pulled Jim out of the Winnebago and up to a tree that sat on higher ground. Mostly everyone followed after the two of them up there; I hung back at the Winnebago, watching from afar. After my last experience with him I wasn't too sure if I wanted another go at it.

"You ain't gonna say goodbye?" Daryl asked curiously, leaning against the Winnebago beside me.

"Could ask you the same damn thing." I replied coolly.

"Don't know him that well." He shrugged.

"Ditto."

"Bullshit. You're the one that dragged his sorry ass to camp, him and those two niggers." Did he do that shit on purpose, or did it just come naturally? I really didn't know sometimes.

"Would you just shut up?" I sighed, glancing at him wearily.

"Thought you said you wanted to talk, so I'm talkin'."

"Dixon-"

"You ever gonna say my name?"

Frowning, "I say it all the goddamn time."

"Bullshit."

"Fine, _Daryl_, will you please shut up."

"Say it that way and I just might." He smirked, pushing away from the Winnebago and heading back to his truck.

Glancing back up to where Jim was I noticed everyone coming back. Jacqui pushed me aside to get inside, I noticed the tears falling down her face. Out of all of us, she was the one that was attached most to Jim. I felt bad for her, but what else could we do? It was obvious none of us wanted to put him out of his misery for him so this was the next best bet.

"I'm sorry, Jac." I whispered to her gently.

She wiped at her eyes desperately and looked up at me, "Me too, Emmy."

"Let's head out!" Shane shouted, demanding all of us to move back to our vehicles.

Apparently somewhere between here and there Dale had fixed the belt up. From what I understood Shane and T-Dog had dragged back a few more rolls of duct tape, so at least we had that to fall back on at some point.

When we got to the CDC, it was everything I had expected. Dead soldiers laying everywhere. Who knew if they were really dead or just playing dead like Walkers often did. It was nerve racking and everybody I looked at I saw the faces of one of my brothers. This could be them somewhere, they could be laid out just like this. They could be dead too.

My heart hammered painfully in my chest as we moved carefully through the graveyard. Rick was the at the front of the group with a gun armed and ready. The rest of us had guns too, just in case we ran into something that moved. It'd draw attention but the way Rick was hoping, it wouldn't matter. Heaven supposedly laid inside those doors. I still wasn't too convinced, but it was too late to back out now.

"Be quiet." Shane admonished to us as he circled back around to the rear. Which was hard considering the smell was more condensed here. It was bad enough with the Walkers. But with so many, so close it was nearly toxic to breathe. I tried breathing through my mouth but all that gave me was the taste of death; not all too appetizing.

"Okay, stay together. Keep moving." Rick kept telling us quietly. It was getting harder the closer we got. Before it had been soldiers and civilians laid out all around, but now, all I could see was army fatigues laying all across the ground. Brains blown out and crumpled awkwardly against the asphalt. My brother's face kept freely flashing in front of my eyes and at every one I'd flinch further away.

"Hey! Your brothers' ain't here, relax." Daryl told me quietly as I took too long of a pause near one. I frowned up at him, but he had a point, one the logical side of my couldn't disagree with. Motioning forward he silently told me to keep moving. He stayed closer after that than I would've thought.

When we got to the building there was a set of metal roll up doors. They looked like a force to be reckoned with and didn't look like they were moving any time soon. Rick and Shane tried everything they could think of to open them as the rest of us hovered nearby nervously. This was taking too long and I swear to fuckin' God that one of those soldiers just moved. They shouldn't be fuckin' moving!

"There's nobody here!" Shane growled. Had we expected anything less? No.

"Then why are these doors locked, huh?" Rick defended.

"Walkers!" Daryl called, alerting us to the solider that did in deed fuckin' move. Sophia and Carl cried out in fear, shying further behind their mothers. Immediately all of us were turning back to the grave yard we had left behind us, guns at the ready. Daryl fired an arrow into its head, quickly dispensing of the solo Walker.

"You led us into a graveyard!" Daryl hissed, turning back around to face Rick.

"He made a call!" Shane growled, moving to get between Rick and Daryl.

"It was the wrong damn call!" Daryl shouted.

"Just shut up!" Shane commanded, pointing a finger threateningly at Daryl. Turning to Rick, "We need to leave, this is a dead end. City ain't safe after dark."

"Shane's right, we need to leave."

"Where are we going to go?" Carol moaned, holding tightly onto Sophia.

"We don't have anywhere to go! We're fuckin' trapped!" I complained, violently shaking my head. I couldn't believe this. I couldn't believe I was gonna fuckin' die. I could've run off to find my brothers, but no. I had made the stupidest fuckin' decision and came with them.

"Fort Benning. We head there." Shane suggested in a panic.

"We're out of gas! We wouldn't make it a mile." Dale commented, eyeing the soldiers that were close by wearily.

"See – _fucked_!" I cussed.

"There's got to be someone here." Rick said in disbelief, shaking his head.

"C'mon man, it ain't safe. We got to go." Shane stated, grabbing a hold of Rick's collar and pulling him backwards and away from the doors. I don't know where exactly Shane thought we were goin' but, fuck it better be a damn good idea.

"Wait!" Rick demanded, pointing up to the surveillance camera in the corner. "That moved!"

"It's all in your head man, c'mon!" Shane sighed.

"If you don't let us in, you're killing us!" Rick screamed at the top of his lungs. Way to go dumbass. Attract even more fuckin' Walkers. Between him, Daryl cussin' and the two kids whimpering insistently, I was sure the whole damn city knew we were here. And if they didn't, they would soon.

There was already a horde of them heading our way. T-Dog had fired off a few rounds to dispense of a pair that had gotten too close, but all that did was draw more. We were so screwed.

"Just let it go!" I shouted at Rick as his screams to let us in didn't die down. He was fuckin' delusional if he actually thought someone was in there. If there was, they were dead too. Fuckin' Walkers inside and out was the most we could hope for.

We were a few feet away from the doors. Rick was still struggling against Shane. I had picked off two Walkers that had gotten within twenty feet of us. Daryl had picked off three more with the shotgun he had. T-Dog had gotten a few more too, but it was all in vain. This was worse than back at the camp. We were dead.

Then, there was a blinding light coming from behind us. Shell-shocked, we all turned to look. One of the roll up doors were opened.

"Shit." I whispered in astonishment. Maybe we were saved.


	14. Thirteen

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello my dolls! :)

I'm sorry this is late, but I changed the order of the chapters last minute. I was gonna do the CDC first, but after thinking about it and talking to my mum, I decided that this way flowed a little better. I hope you guys do too! So we're gonna have to wait for Daryl and Emmy to talk, sorry!

I loved writing about the brothers, they've just been begging to be written! :) I did it in third person, which was hard to do, but I think it turned out okay. Keep in mind that this is set between the 4-6 week mark. It's showing where Emmy's brothers were after the outbreak and leading up to where Emmy meets up with the camp.

My heart belongs to Slytherin Studios. Hazardous Hollz, Comidia Del Arte, melodytaylor85, Dalonega Noquisi and rosiepine! I want to seriously serenade you! :) I find elfgurl1404, Kikyohater220, core013 and Trillen17 extremely awesome for adding this to their alerts/favs! :)

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>Always in a rush<br>Never stay on the phone long enough  
>Why am I so self-important?<br>Said I'd see you soon  
>But that was, oh, maybe a year ago<br>Didn't know time was of the essence_

_So many questions_  
><em>But I'm talking to myself<em>  
><em>I know that you can't hear me any more<em>  
><em>Not anymore<em>  
><em>So much to tell you<em>  
><em>And most of all goodbye<em>  
><em>But I know that you can't hear me any more<em>

_It's so loud inside my head_  
><em>With words that I should have said<em>  
><em>And as I drown in my regrets<em>  
><em>I can't take back the words I never said<em>  
><em>I never said<em>  
><em>I can't take back the words I never said<em>

_Always talking shit_  
><em>Took your advice and did the opposite<em>  
><em>Just being young and stupid<em>  
><em>I haven't been all that you could've hoped for<em>  
><em>But if you'd held on a little longer<em>  
><em>You'd have had more reasons to be proud<em>

_So many questions_  
><em>But I'm talking to myself<em>  
><em>I know that you can't hear me any more<em>  
><em>Not anymore<em>  
><em>So much to tell you<em>  
><em>ThAnd most of all goodbye<em>  
><em>But I know that you can't hear me any more<em>

_It's so loud inside my head_  
><em>With words that I should have said<em>  
><em>And as I drown in my regrets<em>  
><em>I can't take back the words<em>

_The longer I stand here_  
><em>The louder the silence<em>  
><em>I know that you're gone but sometimes I swear that I hear<em>  
><em>Your voice when the wind blows<em>  
><em>So I talk to the shadows<em>  
><em>Hoping you might be listening 'cos I want you to know<em>

_Words by Skylar Grey_

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><p>Major Zane Sinclair walked down the overly stuffed halls of his post; Fort Benning. An overflow of civilians littered either side of the hall, making it narrower than it had been to begin with. The Army fatigues he wore caused them to skitter further against the sides. The soldiers hadn't been the kindest of hosts for the past month since the civilians had begun flooding in.<p>

The first week had been complete chaos, and though there was a sense of order that had settled over Fort Benning now, it was still a circle of hell that many wished to escape. They had thought wrong when they had assumed that this place would be safe. Yes, they had shelter, food and medicine, but a whole new monster lurked in the shadows at night, taking what they wanted from those unprotected.

Lower ranking soldiers saluted him as he turned down the hall that led to his superiors' office. Today was a Monday, and as per the last four Mondays, Zane walked from the barracks where the single men and women slept, across tent littered grounds and into the another barracks where the higher ranking officers had once held offices, but now it mostly contained poverty stricken women and children who wished for the hell outside the gates and to his CO's office. Every week he went and requested leave from the base to find his brothers and little sister. Each time he was denied, his CO didn't want to give up his best soldier to a suicide mission. But he was a Sinclair and Sinclair's didn't give up.

The woman with the dark, pin straight hair pulled tautly into a bun that sat high on her head and the small eyes on a gaunt face sat at the small desk in front of the oak door. Her name was Cindy and she was General Cain's assistant. She had a stick shoved up her ass, even more so after the things outside the walls, but she never questioned Zane on what he was doing and she didn't frown in disappointment as he came back every week.

"Good morning, sir." She greeted with a tight lipped smile. Zane nodded his head back at her as she motioned him in. When he pushed in through the door, Cain was not surprised to see his best soldier come strolling through. It was 0900, and as per usual, Zane was on the dot.

"Sir." Zane greeted, giving the older man with the bald head and plump stomach a salute.

"What can I do for you today, Sinclair?" The General asked, knowing full and well what the young man wanted. But Cain refused to let him leave. There was a rule about this place; you can come in, but you can't come out. General Cain didn't plan on slackening when it came to that anytime soon.

"I would like to make a formal request for a two week leave to enter the Hot Zone." Zane replied evenly, his back straight and his arms to his side as he stared across the wide desk at his CO. The Hot Zone he was referring to was a hundred miles away from here. It was Atlanta. Any city was considered a Hot Zone, but Atlanta had been the worst. They had lost a lot of soldiers to that city. General Cain was just glad that Sinclair hadn't been a part of that brigade.

Sighing, the General leaned back into his chair and steeple his hands together. "State your reasons, solider."

"I wish to go find my family, sir. My little sister was in Atlanta." Zane repeated for the fifth time.

"I'm going to have to turn you down again, Sinclair. A unit just got back from Atlanta; the city has been declared officially dead. There are no more survivors." Cain informed the young soldier.

Zane's shoulders remained tense as he stared at the General. The city couldn't be completely dead. Emmy had to be there somewhere, he kept telling himself. He'd been in denial for weeks. He regretted not going to get her himself. He could've, every soldier had had the chance to retrieve family and come back to the fort. But Zane had turned the option down, instead believing that his little sister could make it there by herself. He had been so very wrong and he regretted it every waking second. If she was dead out there, it was his fault. He was supposed to take care of her; he was the oldest. That was his job and he had failed not only her, but his parents too.

"Sir-"

"Sinclair, it's dead. It's been dead for a long time, but it's official now. The only things in that city are undead."

"I can't believe it until I see it with my own eyes." Zane returned defiantly, not caring that he was being insubordinate with his CO. He could earn himself a week's worth of time in the brig, but he didn't care. All he wanted was leave so he could get to Atlanta. If he just saw it with his own eyes, he'd believe it. If he could just see her dead or alive, just to know, he'd be alright. That's all he needed. It was driving him crazy not knowing. He didn't worry so much about his brothers; he figured they were all locked up tight still. Emmy was the only one floating in the wind.

"They have video. Go down to IT and watch it, Sinclair. I don't need you any more distracted than you already are. Get it out of your fucking system, understood?" Cain demanded coarsely, his eyes narrowed on the younger man. He found Zane to be a good soldier, he had been his CO for the last three years. He had watched him rise through the ranks quicker than any other soldier, it was impressive considering he had failed boot camp three times before earning his place.

"Yes, sir." Zane replied tersely.

"You're dismissed." Cain commanded, earning a quick salute from Zane before he exited the office as calmly as he could make himself. He was angry and confused. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. He walked by Cindy without a backwards glance and quickly made his way towards the basement of the building where IT was stationed.

The line for the elevator was short. It was that time of morning and it didn't leave Zane too surprised. The inside of it was sterile and a steel color. It wouldn't move up or down unless you swiped your card in front of the scanner. Zane swiped the car in front of the laser before pressing the button for the level F subbasement. The floors went all the way down to W down there and it always creeped the shit out of Zane. He tried to spend as much time up top as he could, the confined spaces made him queasy.

Level F was one big room with fifty high tech computers and a larger screen that covered the entire back wall. It's where ops over in Iraq had once been handled, but now it was mostly used to keep tabs on everything going on outside of these walls. There had been quite a few close calls that they had only been aware of because of this floor. The nerds that worked the computers were held in a new respect after the first one. Sometimes they were held in higher regards than the actual soldiers.

The big cheese of the nerds was a man named Lionel Busch. He was tall, lanky and clumsier than a bull in a china shop. He had a squeaky voice and a lisp that was hard to understand when he was angry. Lionel didn't like any of the soldiers, he found them demeaning and he had this complex that made him hard to deal with on the best of days. Zane didn't deal with him too often; he wasn't among the soldiers that got to go out on missions, but when they did deal with each other, Lionel acted like he was holier than though. Zane didn't like Lionel very much, but had decided on the ride down to Level F, that he was going to have to be civil. If just this once.

"Hey, Busch!" Zane called out with a lazy smirk. The man in questioned stood at the front of the room with a tablet in their arms. Going off of the video that was on screen, Zane assumed that they were just diving into whatever footage the latest unit that had gone into Atlanta had dragged back. Exactly what he wanted to see, so Zane was feeling particularly lucky, if only for a moment.

The tall man snapped his head around at the sound of his name, his dark eyes narrowed in on Zane as Lionel saw the army fatigues that didn't belong in his floor. "What do you want?"

"General sent me down here to watch the footage that just got brought in." Zane replied easily, walking further into the foreign territory. The techs at the computers were eyeing him suspiciously as he walked past them. He wanted to pull rank, but he knew that it'd only increase their dislike of him. He was a soldier which made him an animal. Just because a lot of the soldiers had been the shining example of why humanity was fucked, didn't mean he was in that group too.

Lionel snorted and turned back around to face the screen. "Typical. We haven't finished going over it. Come back later."

"I don't care. I'm just looking for confirmation." Zane replied, coming to stop a few feet behind the rude man.

"Fine. Don't get bitchy when you see a soldier you may know." Lionel snapped as he pressed down onto the screen of the tablet which caused the stilled image on the screen to jump back to life. Looking up at it Zane tried to determine which part of Atlanta they were in. He knew where the CDC was, where Emmy had worked and where she had lived, but other than that he never had had the misfortune of going into Atlanta.

The video had obviously been taken by a helmet cam. It was shaky and gave a perspective from about six or so feet off the ground. At every noise it jarred as the soldier had turned his head quickly to react to the noise. From what he understood it had been a three man mission. He caught site of two other pairs of boots aside from the ones that the man that had been filming had worn. They were right in the middle of the carnage. There were charred busses and cars, the craters from the bombs they had dropped on Atlanta the very same night he had talked to Emmy. His heart clenched as the soldier glanced up to a building that had been hit by a bomb. It was missing an entire floor, nothing but black remnants were left for the eye to see. What if Emmy's apartment building had been destroyed the same way?

The further they moved into the city, the worse devastation Zane saw flashing across the screen. He couldn't believe that Emmy could survive there. His fellow soldiers hadn't even, so how was Emmy? Sure, she was good at shooting and knew how to take care of herself, but the situation she was dropped into was nothing she was used to. Nothing any of us were used to.

"Are you looking for something particular?" Lionel asked with a leer in the soldier's direction. His face was scrunched up in an ugly look and his beady eyes remained narrowed on anything he happened to glance at.

"My sister. I'm just trying to figure out if she could still be there."

"Oh," Lionel sighed. "You're _that _guy."

Zane's eyes flashed to him in a dangerous way, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. I've just heard about you." Lionel shrugged trying to focus back on the images flying across the screen. From the noises coming over the speakers in the room, this was the part of the team's mission where they had accidently come across a group of Walkers. They were screaming and shooting and the combination of the noises made it hard to focus.

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Zane looked back to the screen. He didn't like the idea of being the head of base gossip. He supposed it was to be expected that nothing happened around the Fort other than the rare soldier or civilian killing themselves, but the idea still didn't sit well with him. His business was his own.

"She's dead you know though, right? No one survived out there." Lionel commented stiffly. It felt weird to actually being talking to a solider in a semi civil way, but he felt bad for him. Lionel had to own up to his family being dead a long time ago, so he understood where Zane was coming from in a sense, but he found it stupid to keep the torch going when it was obvious the outcome.

Zane glanced over at him again, more weary this time. That's what everyone kept telling him. There weren't too many survivors outside these walls and it was a waste of time to be thinking that there was. That's what his CO had said the second week. But was it really wrong to not want to give up hope? It was keeping him moving, keeping him living. If there was a chance that his family was still out there somewhere, on their way to Fort Benning, then he needed to stay alive.

"But what if they did?" Zane asked. "What if we're the ones killing them by thinking they're not alive?"

"They _didn't_." Lionel replied, stressing the word.

But Zane didn't believe any of that. He just couldn't. Even if it was just a shred of hope, Zane had to keep it. What was the point of living if you didn't have hope? Hope was the root of every breath and every step someone took. Zane didn't think he could survive if he gave that up, it wasn't his fault that no one else understood that. He just had to keep trying. He had to find them, he had to find Emmy. They had to be alive. They had to.

* * *

><p>Lieutenant Colonel Grady Sinclair of the US Air Force was not amused. Today was another day at the end the row of very bad days. Scott Air Force Base was nearing its death. The Airmen that had been bitten but not killed were starting to break through the barricade Grady and some of the other men had made. Everyone that was left behind was getting nervous about the idea of them getting out and as the seconds ticked on, that nervousness was only increasing.<p>

Grady had wanted to kill them straight off, but their now dead CO had disagreed, ordering him and twelve other men to barricade them into a section of the Air Base. It had been a bad idea to start with, but now it was really fucking stupid. Out of all the things to die by, Grady wasn't too fond of this idea. He was either killing them or leaving. Those were his two options and if the Airman that had taken their CO's position didn't like it, well tough fucking luck.

Grady, along with the CO and the thirty other men still haunting the halls of the base were in the mess hall. They were having a meeting. Discussing the very thing that Grady was pissed about. He was remaining silent for the moment being; trying to gauge how everyone else felt. It was obvious that they were displeased by the circumstances, but he'd found the men he had flown with had little to no back bone in this hell.

"What's your vote, Sinclair?" Hoffman snapped in Grady's direction. Hoffman was a short and gaunt man, the combination made him scary at times which he used to his advantage to get the remaining men to do what he wanted. He reminded Grady of the principal from the high school in Dallas. The only difference here was that Grady wasn't below shooting him in the face; he'd been rather weary of the man that was probably dead and walking in Dallas.

"I vote we get the fuck out of here." Grady answered coarsely.

Hoffman scoffed and narrowed his beady eyes on Grady, "We _can't_ abandon our post." A meek chorus of agreements followed his statement. If any of them had had their way, they would've been gone five weeks ago.

"This is a 'abandon ship or abandon hope' sorta deal, sir. I don't know about you, but I've lost enough of my hope, so I'm going with the abandon ship option." Grady said loudly, demanding the attention of his fellow Airmen. He had his bag packed back in his quarters and was ready to go, all he needed was to know that no one else was interested in abandoning ship and then he'd hit the road. There had to be somewhere better than here. There had to be.

Rations were getting low and the generators were dying. They couldn't survive here any longer, if only Hoffman would realize it. It wasn't abandoning your post if you couldn't survive there.

"And you're what, going to lead these men to the promise land?" Hoffman laughed bitterly, glancing around to the so far quiet Airmen. Hoffman's smirk widened as they continued to stare between the two men. They'd been battling for the title of head cheese since their Lieutenant General had gotten bit. He was among the fifty or so that was locked in what had once been the warehouse for the birds.

"If they want me, then yeah! I ain't gonna just take over leadership without a fucking concession!" Grady shouted, his temper flaring out bitterly.

"Alright," Hoffman laughed, "Let's see who will follow you, Sinclair. Raise of hands if you want to go out there with dumb fuck Sinclair!" He shouted, glancing around at the men. They all glanced between each other before a small group of four finally raised their hands in the air. They had been the group Grady had always flown with before, so they trusted him. They were also among the group that wanted to get the fuck out of dodge. The rest of them however, we're siding with Hoffman.

"I think we'll be leaving then." Grady smirked.

"You can't fucking leave!" Hoffman screamed, waving his narrow finger in Grady's face.

"Consider us AWOL, sir."

"You think you're gonna last out there? Huh? You're _not_! You just signed your death warrant!" Hoffman shouted in outrage after them as they filed out of the room. Grady merely waved his hand over his shoulder at the man. He felt calmer now knowing he was leaving this piece of shit behind.

"You sure this is the best idea, Grady?" Second Lieutenant Smith asked with raised eyebrows as they entered the barracks that they all shared.

Grady left the man in silence until he reached his cot. He was deep in thought; trying to remember the quickest way to Georgia. They would want to avoid towns; which was going to end up being impossible, but he was still trying to humor the idea. Finally, Grady looked over to his fellow Airman with a somber look, "It's the best idea we have."

"What if it's worse out there?" Smith persisted with pursed lips. Grady found it annoying that the man was suddenly doubting him when not even ten minutes ago he had been directly on Grady's side. He figured that it was just a side effect of being trapped within the fences of the base for so long, but the more real the thought that he was actually getting out of here became, the more annoyed and less empathetic Grady became towards the thought.

"We have fifty of those fuckers locked in the fighter bay, I don't think it can be any worse out there, Smith." Grady snapped impatiently. He didn't need the doubt; he finally had grown a pair to leave this shit hole and here Smith was being a bitch about it. If anything, Grady decided he'd use Smith as a distraction to get away.

"Grady's right, man." Sanchez interrupted with his low and gravelly voice. Sanchez had been friends with Grady since flight school, he always had Grady's back and Grady always had his. They were a team. Sanchez was the only one that really knew why Grady was trying to get to Fort Benning; not only for the idea of better safety and conditions but also because he had made the promise to his baby sister and brothers. He needed to get to Fort Benning where hopefully his family was.

Grady nodded his head in the Sanchez's direction in gratitude before turning his attention back to Smith with a pair of narrowed eyes. "If you don't like it, be a bitch and stay here. The choice is yours."

"Thought you had already sided with us." Sanchez added in distaste.

"I just don't kno-"

"Well you better figure it out. We're leaving." Grady interrupted, brushing past the smaller man in annoyance. Sanchez and the other two – Rutter and Conley – right behind them with their overstuffed packs thrown over their shoulders.

"Don't worry, man, Em's gonna be just fine." Sanchez commented lightly to Grady on their way out through the gates. Grady merely nodded his head; he hoped for that much, but after everything that happened since the last time the five of them talked, he wasn't too sure anymore.

* * *

><p>Master Sergeant Travis Sinclair of the US Marine Corps was having another rough day. He wasn't too surprised by it, after the last month or so he had had he had anticipated it even. The high school they had gotten trapped in was a piece of shit. The men that he had gone into the small rural town with were trigger happy and had used up most of their ammo on the first day.<p>

The civilian's they had somehow gotten stuck with, and Travis really did mean stuck, were little bitches and bastards that wouldn't stop fucking complaining. They thought it was their God given purpose to complain to Travis 24/7. He was living in the same fucked up circumstances so it was wasted breathe, but they didn't seem to understand this concept. It made it worse that the CO they had gone into the town with was dead and walking around somewhere outside, which delegated the mundane task of listening to them to Travis.

The agony of their complaining had slightly lessened once the water had stopped flowing through the pipes. It had been about the second week, and after much complaining on this by a lawyer and his friend's part with nothing being done they had convinced ten or so of the fifty civilians to leave with them to find somewhere safer. Travis hadn't even tried to talk them out of it. Less mouths to feed, he had thought to himself.

After that it was like a virus, slowly they began to dwindle. They honestly thought it was safer away from the Marines than it was close by. Travis and his men were all but happy to let them think that.

By the one month mark of being stuck in the shitty school, there were fifteen civilians and twelve Marines. They were at the bottom of their supplies and Travis regrettably sent out half of his team to find some. They never came back.

Now, one week later, Travis was at his breaking point. He didn't know what to do. The ratio of civilians to Marines was now disportionate and both sides of the equation were getting antsy over it. Travis was close to opting out like some of his fellow Marines had back at Camp Lejeune. The nagging thought of his brothers and little sister constantly sat at the back of his head, being the only thing restraining him from putting that gun in his mouth and pulling the trigger.

He had half a mind to just take what little ammo and men he had left and get them to Fort Benning. If anywhere was going to be safe that was where it was. As far as he knew Camp Lejeune was dead. He wished it wasn't considering how close it was, but Fort Benning was just an extra fifty miles in the other direction and the longer they stayed here the better it was sounding.

"Who's up for a road trip?" Travis asked glancing at each of the Marines.

"Sir?" Corporal Mitchel asked wearily from the other side of the table with a raised eyebrow in Travis' direction. Corporal Mitchel had dirty blonde hair and dirty brown eyes. Everyone was tired. Everyone was just as lost and confused as Travis was at this point. The only difference was that Travis couldn't be so open about it.

"Fort Benning. Far as I know, it'd be the safest place to move on to." Travis replied calmly, making a special point to make contact with the five of them. It was just the Marines tonight in the mess hall of the high school and tonight was the night that Travis was going to be proposing the idea of Fort Benning. He'd mentioned it in passing to one or two of them over the past month, but tonight he was going to give them the option to follow him there.

"Could we even make it that far?" Private Edsigna asked quietly, he was the youngest of them with thick glasses on his nose and dark hair slicked back over his head, his skin was a shade of olive and when he got anxious he started muttering to himself in Spanish. He had just gotten out of training when the world went to shit. Travis felt bad for him most of the time and tried to keep an eye on him. He had never had a little brother before and he liked the thought of it sometimes when he was missing Emmy.

"If we dumped the dead weight, then fuck yeah!" Corporal Lancing whooped. He didn't talk all the much and was a little on the short side. The only thing that was obvious about him was the fact that he had a clear dislike for the civilians. He blamed losing six of his fellow Marines on them and didn't let it go unknown.

"Are we gonna do that?" Edsigna asked with wide eyes, glancing between Travis and Lancing.

"Yes." Travis replied curtly. It was going against everything he was ever taught in his life, but he couldn't just sit here and rot away. He knew the civilians wouldn't trust going out there with a bunch of Marines. They had shown how they felt about that idea time and time again, which left Travis with this. Taking his men and leaving.

"Sir, can we do that?" Another Marine asked, she was the only female in the unit; that alone made her the toughest bitch within a hundred miles in Travis' opinion. It was hard holding your own among a bunch of asshole Marines. Her name was Mackenzie and she had this scarlet hair that made her stand out that much more, she had an attitude and a way with words too. If all that wasn't enough to make her a thorn in Travis' side, the fact that they had been dating under the radar before the dead started walking was. She was constantly doubting him. So between her and the civilian's he was ready to mass murder on the best of days.

"_We are_. I'm not risking my life for them any longer." Travis snapped at her irritably. "Pack your shit; we leave in the morning."

"We're not even gonna tell them?" Mitchel asked him carefully.

"No. I'm not going to listen to them bitch at me any longer. Don't like it; stay behind." Travis stated with a sense of finality that landed heavily on the chests of his fellow Marines. Shoving his seat away from the table – eliciting a horrible squeal from its legs – he withdrew himself from their company in a huff.

This is what they needed to do. It wasn't his fucking fault that the civilians they had been landed with were complete idiots. It wasn't his job to lead them. He'd already done more than his share of being their damn herder. If they had had their way they'd been dead a long time ago and maybe he should've let them. It was less effort to just let them go screaming outside. Kept the locals fed and the population up, he thought sardonically.

It wasn't like he could make them do anything they didn't want to, no matter how hard he tried. Had a months' worth of failure to show you that much. He just wanted out of this place. It was killing him slowly and surely. He'd rather die and be one of them than keep suffocating his this damn school.

His only concern was his team and getting to Fort Benning where his family was. He didn't let the word hopefully enter his mind; he knew they had to be there and that's all there was to it.

* * *

><p>Dallas was dead. There was no way to sugar coat it, because every corner you turned there was something waiting to rip your face off. The moans from the dead carried down to the full halls of the Dallas CDC.<p>

Missouri was among a group of soldiers, Doctors, officers and civilians that walked those halls. He had gotten in at the very last minute the day of the outbreak. He couldn't say that he didn't like it there, because it was safe and that's all he could really ask for. But he really didn't like it there. It was locked up tight and he hated being twenty floors underneath the city. He figured the room of those things that the head Doctor kept to run tests on wasn't helping his level of calm either.

Missouri was among three that knew about that room. He wasn't happy to be included on that list. It sat wrong with him to be keeping them like that. The best they could do for them was kill them. He had stated this fact on more than one occasion, but the head Doctor disagreed; live samples were the only way he was going to find a cure for it. Missouri doubted they'd ever find a cure, but there wasn't much he could do. He was a guest there.

They hadn't made contact with anyone for one week. It was making Doctor Yan – the spicy oriental that was the head of the CDC – a little nervous. The fact that the gas for the generators was getting just a little too low wasn't helping anyone too much either. A countdown had already started. It was just a matter of days until they ran out. Only a matter of days until everyone within those walls died. Doctor Yan had disclosed that little jewel to everyone once the timer had popped up. Let's just say he was still sporting a busted lip and shiner from one of the soldiers.

Doctor Yan wasn't at complete fault though. He was giving everyone the option to leave the morning before the doors locked for good. Missouri had decided on taking that option. He figured Fort Benning had waited long enough. He wasn't looking forward to the lecture Zane was sure enough to give him for taking so long. Emmy was gonna rip him a new one too, he was sure. She hated to wait.

He got so pissed off at himself sometimes. He regretted not keeping Emmy in Dallas with him. He shouldn't have ran her off to Atlanta. He would've known she was safe if she had stayed. There would've been a degree less of worry for everyone if that had been the case. But no, they had all thought they knew best and sent her away. She was closer to everyone else so they saw no error in it, but now, now Missouri hated himself for folding at his brothers' whims.

He hadn't gotten too close to anyone that had gotten locked up in the CDC with him. He didn't see the need. Sure, they'd been locked in there together for quite a while, but Missouri never planned on staying that long and he'd never really been one for friends. He was the more reserved one out of the triplets. He figured that's why he and Emmy got along so well; he was willing to go along with anything you threw out there if it was smart, and well Missouri didn't think he knew anyone smarter than his baby sister. He hoped that all those smarts he thought she had was keeping her alive and safe.

Missouri left the Dallas CDC early in the morning, him and two other soldiers were the only ones deciding to not inhale burning air and die. They were the only stupid ones, Doctor Yan had said as he let them out. Missouri disagreed, how could choosing to live be stupid? Even if the circumstances were now just a little murky, it didn't mean that you had to give up. Life was still life, even if death hadn't remained the same.

After going to the Sherriff's department he had been working at for the past three years to round up some sort of weapons and then heading home to pick up a few sentimental things, Missouri was on his way out of Dallas. Georgia was quite a ways away and he had a lot of ground to cover. He had been lucky enough to find a Hummer on the side of the highway out of Dallas with a tank full of gas and nothing rotting inside.

It hadn't necessarily been his first thought to head through Kings County on his way to Fort Benning, but he had somehow ended up there after a week of driving and walking. He'd had more than just a couple close calls and had been happy with himself for dragging along the riot gear with him when he had left Dallas, it was proving to be extremely useful when he went on supply runs. It gave him enough protection that he could fight without them getting a munch in him and it was light enough that he could run.

It was on the edge of Kings County, the town his momma had grown up in and that they had spent quite a few summers in, that he ran across a man. A man with a hat and a badge; a brother in arms really if Missouri wanted to get poetic about the encounter. It was a complete accident he even came across the man.

He had run out of gas at the most inopportune moment. From where he was marooned on the side of the road he could see a gas station sign, so with caution he had moved forward. The sawed off shotgun he had swiped from a dead hunter two town back was gripped tightly in his hands, his eyes were on a constant sweep and Missouri's heart jumped at every noise.

The cars were packed densely together the closer he got to the gas station. In a few cars he spotted families that had taken their lives. It was hard to stomach the thought as he saw the little children in the backseats, but Missouri kept moving. He just hoped that there was gas.

"_Are you bit_?" Missouri swiveled at the voice. His heart was in a panic as he looked around himself for the source. Had he really heard that voice or was it all in his head? Had he been out here for too long by himself?

"I said are you bit?" More frantic this time Missouri heard the voice, it sounded closer this time he noted wearily.

"No! Are you?" Missouri's voice cracked at the disuse it had suffered over the past week.

"No!" It replied and finally Missouri saw the source, a man in a sheriff's hat and uniform. Missouri suddenly felt naked as he spotted him; he hadn't worn his own uniform for what felt like ages. He ached for the normalcy it had brought with it. "My name is Rick Grimes. Who are you?"

"Missouri Sinclair. Nice to meet you, sir."

"Likewise." The man smiled. Missouri suddenly had the feeling that this man would be of more use to him in the future than he would have ever guessed.


	15. Fourteen

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello my dolls! :) This is an early Saint Patrick's Day present; so enjoy!

I love this fucking installment so fucking much that I'm THIS close to bursting at the seams about it! xD Emmy's long awaited big news is finally here along with some drunken word vomit between her and Daryl. I'm sorry it took so long though. The first time I wrote it out, I hated it. It felt forced and rushed and just didn't tickle my fancy. This version is so much better and definitely worth the wait, I assure you. :)

My heart beats for rosiepine, melodytaylor85, Comidia Del Arte, Slytherin Studios, Indigo87, elfgurl1404, Dalonega Noquisi, Hazardous Hollz and for them alone. :)

The following people are extremely incredible for the sole fact that they added this here feature to their alerts; Trillen17, vintagedisposition, alliskat93, bonjouraurevoir, Hollyberrrry, animelover56348, FlyingHampsterOfDoom, kjlacey, spacemanthatcantgethigh, CL 9 3 11 0 9 5.

I find the following people mind numbingly awesome because they added this feature to their favs; Indigo87, HaloDestroyer, DeathSidhe, norcalpc, FlyingHampsterOfDoom, spacemanthatcantgethigh, ticklemehaley.

* * *

><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

* * *

><p><em>How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes<br>I struggle to find any truth in your lies  
>And now my heart stumbles on things I don't know<br>My weakness I feel I must finally show_

_Lend me your hand and we'll conquer them all_  
><em>But lend me your heart and I'll just let you fall<em>  
><em>Lend me your eyes I can change what you see<em>  
><em>But your soul you must keep, totally free<em>  
><em><br>_

_How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes_  
><em>I struggle to find any truth in your lies<em>  
><em>And now my heart stumbles on things I don't know<em>  
><em>My weakness I feel I must finally show<em>  
><em>Har har, har har<em>  
><em>har har, har har<em>

_In these bodies we will live,_  
><em>in these bodies we will die<em>  
><em>Where you invest your love,<em>  
><em>you invest your life<em>

_Awake My Soul by Mumford & Sons_

* * *

><p><strong>FOURTEEN<strong>

There's this saying about the calm before the storm. The reprieve that takes you in for only a moment and then shoves you back out into whatever terrifying specter you're stuck in. They say the calm before the storm is worth it. They say that just that small second of safety and calm is worth a million seconds in hell. That's what they say, but is it true?

I say it's not. I say it's better to never taste that happiness again than to have it and lose it one more time. Some would say that makes me bitter, but in my opinion it makes me realistic. Dreamers and optimism don't fit in this world anymore and if you think it does, you're more lost than you were to begin with. Realism and cynicism is the only way to go now. The glass half full is not the rule of thumb any longer.

It's better to have never known than to have known and lost it twice. Some things are better left that way. Some things just don't deserve to be given. Some people aren't strong enough to receive and lose over and over again. Some people don't deserve that peril. Some people are strong enough to walk the valley of death but not strong enough to have hope for only a second and have it ripped away.

I wasn't strong enough…

My heart was paralyzed as everyone surged forward. I couldn't get my feet to move. This was too good to be true. A part of me was complaining that it was even happening. Why did it have to be happening? We had been so close to going to Fort Benning. We had been so close to leaving this damned city behind for good and then the goddamn doors have to open!

There was only a small part of me that actually thought this was a good idea; going inside and greeting whatever devil awaited us. The rest of me was screaming in disagreement. The rule of thumb now a days was you traded one hell for a worse one. That's just what you had to expect now, that thought didn't leave me as ecstatic as the rest of them.

"Get your ass movin'!" Daryl shouted at me indignantly, grabbing ahold of my forearm roughly he towed me inside the building.

My eyes roamed the dark insides of the building frantically as I searched for whoever was letting us in. All I could picture was a mad Doctor who had been locked in here by himself for weeks with nothing but the Walkers he was testing on as company. I had left one horror movie for another.

"Let go of my damn arm!" Daryl grunted in annoyed as he fruitlessly tried to shake me off. In the middle of my horror fantasies I had latched onto the Hunter like he was a life raft, if we'd been in any other situation than I might have been amused.

"No!" I hissed, digging my fingernails into his arm. The bastard had dragged me into this damn place and I'd be damned if I didn't make him as equally miserable. Why couldn't he have just left me outside? The motherfucker.

"Are any of you infected?" A loud voice questioned from the darkness, it echoed against the high walls that were beginning to surround us. Rick was immediately at attention and Shane trained his gun on every shadow that moved.

"No! One of our people was, but we left him behind!" Rick shouted to the shadows. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Who in their right mind tells someone that? It's like first date 101; you never tell your skeleton in the closet secrets on the first date. How stupid was he?

"Who are you and what do you want?" He asked.

"A chance." Rick answered.

"That's an awful lot these days."

"I know."

"All of you will have to take a blood test – that's the price of admission."

"We can do that." Rick agreed quickly in relief, throwing a smile at his son.

"I suggest you go get what you want; once these doors close, they're not opening again." We were told as a shadow moved closer towards us. As the light from overhead the doors hit the man, I noticed with narrowed eyes the AK-47 strapped over his shoulders, one of his hands resting lazily across it. Who the fuck was this guy?

"Let go, I gotta go get our shit." Daryl drawled to me as T-Dog and Glenn began moving back out to the graveyard. I had half a mind to go with them and drive off into the sunset, but I couldn't quite get the thought to agree with my feet and so with trepidation I released the redneck hunter's arm.

"What are your names?" The Ak-47 wielding man asked. I quite frankly was more interested in knowing who _he_ was.

"I'm Rick Grimes, this is my wife and son; Lori and Carl. That's Shane, Andrea, Jacqui, Dale, Carol, Sophia, Emmy and the three that just left are T-Dog, Glenn and Daryl." Rick explained quickly, pointing at each of us as he said our names. Our so called savior merely nodded his head and remained quiet as we waited for the trio to return.

When the three of them returned they handed off the bags that were loaded onto their bodies to the people they belonged to and once that was sorted the man led us to an elevator.

"Vi, the elevator please." He says and a second later the lights above the elevator come to life and the doors spring open. So it wasn't just him then..?

I'd never been good when it came to elevators. That lurch that'd give way in your stomach when it started moving always got to me. My stomach was twisted up into knots as I was shoved into the back of the metal box; in between T-Dog and Daryl. Somehow I didn't feel all that safe between the two bulky men.

"Who are you?" Daryl asked with a raised eyebrow, motioning between him and his semi-automatic. Finally; a man asking the right questions.

"Doctor Edwin Jenner." The man answered over his shoulder with the tip of his head.

"What kind of Doctor walks around packin' heat like that?" Daryl inquired crossly, motioning to the AK in question. Everyone visibly tensed around us at the question. I couldn't decide whether to smirk at their reactions or to cringe. This entire thing could swing either way at this point.

"There were enough of these lying around that I figured out how to use it." Jenner explained to us as we continued to descend. The numbers were getting more and more outrageous the further we went. "You all look harmless enough though. Except you; I'll be keeping an eye on you." He added with a lazy smile in Carl's direction. The little boy laughed softly as his shoulders eased.

"Just don't shoot me." I quipped with a sarcastic smile.

"I can't make any promises." Jenner responded with equal zeal, a little bit of the thick wall that surrounded him falling to the floor. Daryl and T-Dog narrowed their eyes on the man and I frowned. What the hell was up their asses?

"Are any of you claustrophobic?" Jenner asked us as he leads us out of the elevator and down the hall, lights lighting up on the sides of the walls as we passed.

According to the numbers on the elevator, we were in the basement, a few floors underneath the ground. It was like being buried alive but with the luxury of air conditioning. I could feel the cool breeze coming through the vents and breathed my first happy sigh in months. This was definitely a luxury I had sorely missed.

"A little bit." Carol admitted.

"Try not to think about it." Jenner advised. "Vi turn on the lights. Welcome to Zone Five." He tells us turning into a doorway, he directed us to file into the room. It had twenty or so computer stations and a timer up on the wall with red numbers that suspiciously enough looked like it was counting _down._ What the fuck?

"So, is it just you or..?" I asked uncertainly. The place was eerie, like a ghost town. We hadn't come across anyone besides Jenner and considering the hope we all thought this place was I didn't take it as a good sign.

"It's just me." He replied calmly, taking one of the seats.

"What about the person you were speaking with? Vi?" Lori asked.

"Vi; say hello to our guest. Tell them, welcome." Jenner requested.

"Hello guests, welcome." A female robotic voice told us. I smirked lightly, so I had pegged that one pretty good.

"I'm all that's left." Jenner repeated. "I'm sorry."

Jenner then proceeded to lead us through the computer room and through another doorway, he took us down a short hallway and then into a room. It looked like it could've been used for lectures at one point with the dry erase board on the front wall and chairs set up in a semi-circle on a three or four inch lift off of the linoleum.

"I don't get why you're doing this. Obviously none of us are bit." Andrea complained once it was her turn at the needle. Rick and his family had taken their turns along with Sophia and Carol. It had been sad to see Sophia up there; she had squeezed her eyes so tight I wasn't sure if she'd be able to open them.

"It's just a precaution. I'm already breaking every rule in the book just by letting you in, so let me do something by the book." Jenner answered crossly, glancing up at the woman with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, so quit bitching." I piped up with a roll of my eyes. She just got her ass saved and was complaining to her savior. The fact that Amy had just died didn't justify her shitty behavior. Not one fuckin' bit of it.

"Don't tell me what to do!" She shouted, gritting her teeth as Jenner stabbed the needle into her arm.

"Calm down, Andrea." Shane sighed, looking at her with narrowed eyes. "Leave her be, Emmy." He said looking towards me with the same look.

"There," Jenner started, putting the vial of blood to the side with the others. "Who's next?"

I definitely didn't want to be. Having blood taken made me sick to my stomach. It was obviously inevitable, but I was hoping to put it off for as long as I could.

When no one jumped for the position, Daryl sighed and crossed the room. "Damn baby's!" He cussed, taking the seat across from Jenner with an exaggerated grunt.

"What's your name?" Jenner asked, prepping Daryl's vein.

"Daryl."

"Well Daryl, since everyone is obviously so excited to get this done, you get to decide who's next." Jenner told him simply. Everyone seemed to stiffen at the wager. Apparently I wasn't alone on my avoidance of the needle.

Glancing over his shoulder, Daryl's eyes landed on me. Shit, I thought, I was so gonna end up going next. The bastard. "Chinaman, you're up next." Glenn groaned from beside me and T-Dog laughed.

"Short end of the stick, man." T-Dog teased with a grin.

"Shit," Glenn groaned.

"Alright," Jenner said, shifting Daryl's vial of blood into the row with the others. "You're up." He finished, looking at Glenn with an easy smile. If it was supposed to be reassuring and calming, he'd obviously hadn't been around people for too long 'cause it was seriously lacking.

"I'm Glenn." The Korean supplied, putting his hand out to the Doctor cordially before he sat down in the chair.

"Name's Edwin, now sit down." Jenner replied, pulling him down into the chair by his hand. "You squeamish?" He asked Glenn, eyeing him cautiously as he prepped his arm.

Clearing his throat awkwardly Glenn looked around the room avoiding the Doctor's eyes, "Yeah."

"Ironic then, aren't we?" Jenner laughed shaking his head. I guess he had a point; it was ironic when you thought about it. All of us were weary of him drawing our blood when we had seen more and smelt more than was normal before the world went to shit, yet we were having panic attacks over a small vial being drawn. Irony in its finest.

"Emmy." Glenn answered before the Doctor could even get the question he had given Daryl out of his mouth. Jenner nodded his head in agreement with a tight smile on his lips as he finished up with Glenn's arm.

"Alright, Emmy, you're up." Jenner said, glancing between Jacqui and me. I guess he was a little foggy on which was which at the moment. In any other situation I'd probably let Jacqui go on ahead of me and act like she was me. But, the sooner the better maybe in this situation. No one else had had any problems with the man shoving the needle in their arms, so there was a considerably large change that I wouldn't either.

"That's me." I commented with a raised eyebrow, causing his eyes to firmly snap into place. He smiled cordially at me like he had with all the others as I slowly made my way over to him. Time to face the music.

"Emmy, huh? What's that short for?" He asked as I sat down with a sigh. Small talk, nice. It was an effort to distract and had been painful enough to watch from a distance, now it was torture. I wondered if he knew how much worse he was making it.

"It's Emily Louise." I replied curtly as he wrapped the rubber band around my arm. Flicking at the place between my bicep and forearm he nodded his head. "Yours really Edwin?" I asked desperately as he pulled a fresh needle out of his kit.

"Like the musician." He agreed cheekily, glancing up from my arm momentarily before piercing my skin with the needle. Pulling the plunger out he drew the blood, I forced myself to look away as he did it. The last time I had been stupid enough to watch I had passed out. Travis hadn't let me live that one down until the next decade.

"Who's that?" Carl asked in interest. I wasn't too sure as to what musician he was referring to either, but I didn't make a habit of questioning someone when they had a needle shoved into my arm.

"American soul singer," Jenner told him off handedly. "He wasn't that good, but my parents thought he was."

"Cool!" Carl grinned. He had obviously pepped up a lot since Jenner had taken his blood. I was undecided on this being a good or bad thing.

When he finally removed the needle from my arm, I let out a sigh of relief. "Who will it be next, Emmy?" Glancing over my shoulder I nodded to Jacqui who was bouncing impatiently on the balls of her feet. She looked wired and she probably was on the emotional roller coaster she was stuck on. She'd just lost Jim and I could tell it was bothering her just as much as it had to lose her boys. I was worried about her.

"Jacqui." I muttered passively as I stood, she was quick to get to the chair and patted me on the shoulder as we passed. She was trying to play it cool now that we were around this stranger, but I could see the seams pulling apart.

"Wasn't so hard, was it?" Daryl drawled. He was leaned up against the wall impatiently watching everything around him. I didn't know why exactly he had tagged along with us to the CDC. Most of us were the ones that had abandoned his brother, so you'd think he'd left when he had the chance. But no, here he was.

"No. Having someone literally take the blood right out of me wasn't so hard at all." I answered with a dramatic roll of my eyes. Just 'cause it was peaches and roses for him didn't make it universal.

"Still a priss." He commented with a shake of his head. I decided to ignore him. I was queasy from the slight blood loss and watching it be done to everyone else had gotten to me more than I realized. I didn't want to stand here arguing with the younger Dixon. I'd much rather be curled up somewhere and sleeping.

"Hey Em, come here." T-Dog demanded, sending a dirty look to Daryl over the top of my head as I turned to look at the over protective man. With a sigh I took the fifteen or so steps across the room to him, tilting my head I silently asked what he wanted. It was too quiet and much too bright for any words that weren't absolutely necessary to be shared.

"Glenn says 'hi'!" T-Dog explained with a toothy smile as he jerked his thumb in Glenn's direction who was sitting doubled over in a chair. Glenn waved at me slightly at the sound of his name and I frowned. "Also says he's sick."

"What's wrong?" I asked empathetically, moving towards him quickly as Jenner announced that it was T-Dog's turn.

"I shouldn't have watched him do it." Glenn groaned in response.

I laughed, "Well duh, you're not supposed to. That's how you get light headed."

"Why didn't you say that to begin with?" He moaned.

"Quit bein' a baby," Jacqui chastised with her motherly tone of voice. Glenn lifted his head and pouted in Jacqui's direction. "Now ain't the time, Glenn."

"Why don't I show you all to the cafeteria?" Jenner asked a few moments later, the carrier that held our vials of blood was held firmly in his hand as he smiled kindly at us. At a quick nod from our unofficial leader – Rick – the good blood stealing Doctor led us out.

"You have _food_?" Glen asked, stressing the actual meaning of the word.

"Hot water too." Jenner told us over his shoulder as he exited out into the hallway. At the mention of hot water, I was instantly on his tail. I definitely wanted to hear more about this hot water. I hadn't had an actual shower for months.

"Are you shittin' us, or what?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope. Hot water, food, air conditioner and some fine ass liquor. Some pull out beds in the rooms too if you choose right." He said with a grin tossed over his shoulder at us. I glanced with raised eyebrows to Glenn, who looked just as excited as I did. Shit, we were all bloody excited. These were luxuries we never thought we'd find again.

"Though if you go into the Rec room, I must ask that you don't turn the games on and don't take any shower longer than ten minutes." He added as an afterthought as he turned into a doorway. _Ten minutes_ of hot water cascading down you back? What kind of dream was this? 'Cause I didn't want to wake up anytime soon.

I laughed excitedly as I followed him into the room, "Are you like an angel or something?"

"For a little while." He laughed too - though his seemed more somber than I would've liked - flicking on light switches as he moved ahead.

The cafeteria was average. It had your regular tables and your regular chairs set up in rows. Before Jenner disappeared to go run our blood, he suggested we push the tables together. Glenn and T-Dog took to the job with zeal as most of the women ran off to the kitchen to see what food there was.

I had half a mind to follow after them; I was the only one that had gone to culinary school after all. But Jacqui had waved her finger at me before she had disappeared behind the doors with the rest of them and well, you didn't follow when Jacqui waved her finger at you. That would be like blasphemy or something. Besides, I figured Andrea still had a stick shoved up her ass and I didn't enjoy the idea of having my cooking critiqued by the bitter woman. Not that I fancied being left with the men folk either.

"Before the nights up, I need to talk to you." Rick commented casually, eyes firmly directed on me. I had a feeling though that there was nothing casual about whatever he wanted to talk about.

"About?" I asked with a frown.

Shane eyed the two of us warily as he and Glenn set up chairs around the newly formed extra-large table. I couldn't blame him. The thought of Rick wanting to talk to me alone left me unsettled. As far as I knew he was among the few I hadn't purposely annoyed, so I figured I was skating on thick ice with the man. But maybe I was wrong, maybe Shane had really fucked me over, or maybe Lori had. I had half a mind to believe the latter.

"We just need to talk." He answered vaguely.

I didn't enjoy the idea too much. Nothing too good ever came from having to have a talk, all it ever did was muck up the waters worse. The thought left me weary about the inevitable conversation I was adamant about having with the youngest Dixon the second I thought it.

"Fine." I agreed, tipping my head in the man's direction. Rick nodded his head back to me before turning his attention back to Carl.

Twenty or so minutes later, the doors to the kitchen banged open and the four women that had disappeared inside emerged with plates of food and real life eating utensils. I swear to God I never thought I'd be so happy to see something that wasn't a goddamn spork.

The food was set in the middle of the table and the plates, glasses, forks, spoons and knives were passed around us as we took our seats. Rick gave a half-assed attempt at grace before Dale humbly took over; finishing it with more finesse than I thought the man was possible of.

I nearly kissed Andrea when she came out of the kitchen carrying bottles of wine. It wasn't the hard stuff that I was really hoping to find, but it was a fuckin' godsend either damn way.

Everyone was in a jovial mood as we ate and joked – even Dixon – and it was hard to believe that we had just narrowly escaped being chewed up an hour or so before. Dale was trying to convince Rick and Lori that in European countries children were allowed to have wine with dinner. From the other side of the table, squeezed between Glenn and T-Dog, it looked like a losing battle. Lori wasn't having any of it until Rick decided to voice his opinion.

The look on Carl's face when he took a sip of the wine was priceless. "That's my boy." Lori laughed pouring what little amount of the liquid that was in Carl's glass into her own.

"Better stick to soda pop there, bud." Shane laughed. He seemed off tonight though, or well, more off than he usually was. He had this look in his eyes whenever he looked at the dynamite family and it was making me nervous. I dreaded the day that particular shit hit the fan.

"Not you, Glenn." Daryl commented.

"What?" Glenn asked in shock, looking up from the bottle of Jack Daniels T-Dog had found in the kitchen for me. I was sharing it with the delivery boy, though by the rate he was going I wasn't going to be getting much out of the bottle.

"Keep drinking, little man. I want to see how red your face can get." Daryl teased.

"You just want to have your way with the poor boy." I laughed, poking Glenn in the chest as everyone laughed. Tonight was really turning out too good to be true. It was only inevitable for the other shoe to drop.

"It has come to my attention that we have yet to thank our host properly." Rick announced after he had gained our attention and risen to his feet.

"He is more than just our host!" T-Dog grinned, raising his glass to the air. Everyone seconded his thought and rose their own glasses into the air. Jenner remained quietly passive at the end of the table. He seemed contemplative and the lack of noise coming from the man that was our apparent savior left me uneasy.

"Thank you." Rick stated sincerely.

"What the hell really happened here? Where did everyone go?" Shane asked, dramatically stifling whatever happiness had settled over us. Sure, it was the inevitable question that had been hanging in the air since we walked in, but there had to be a better way to break the ice.

"We're celebrating, Shane. There's no need to ask that now." Rick interrupted.

"That's why we're here, Rick. For this cure you said they'd have. So I want to know, why instead of a building full of Doctor's working on a cure, we find him. Found one man. Why?" Shane drawled rudely, jutting his thumb over his shoulder in Jenner's direction. How fuckin' rude was he?

Sighing Jenner looked to the ground, "Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left. Some of them left to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the Military cordon got overrun, they bolted."

"All of them?" Shane asked.

"No. Many of them couldn't even bear to walk out these doors. They opted out." Jenner explained.

"Opted out?" Rick asked.

"They killed themselves." I supplied bluntly, Jenner nodded his head at my explanation. "Why didn't you?"

"That's a horrible question to ask someone." Jenner replied.

"Well, social graces ain't the same anymore. So…"

"I had a purpose. It's hard to opt out when you have a purpose." I frowned across the table at him. Why was there a 'had' in that sentence? It left me unsettled as the conversations Shane had stilled with his questions slowly stirred back to life, though the tone to the evening was somber after that.

"You don't sound so sure of that now." I commented.

Sighing he nodded his head, "I've been doing this for a long time. The light at the end of the tunnel is dimming." A dead silence followed his admission.

"Dude, you are such a buzz kill." Glenn complained as he passed the half empty bottle off to me.

Once we had cleaned up the tables in a much somber attitude, Jenner led us out of the cafeteria and down a hall. "The Rec Room is up the hall; just remember to not turn on the games." Jenner told the kids after he had explained to us that there were cots in storage if we wanted them.

"Go easy on the hot water too." He added with a small smile before he disappeared down the hall. I still couldn't believe there was actual _hot water_.

Once I actually felt clean again I pulled on a pair of gray sweats and a black wife beater before exiting the room I had claimed for myself. A fresh bottle of Jack Daniels in hand the first mission on the list was to find Rick. Creepily enough, he was waiting outside my door.

"Hey there, Officer." I quipped with a lazy smile.

"Emmy." He replied, tipping his head at me before he took a long swig from the bottle in his hands.

"So what do we need to talk about?" I asked lightly, keeping my distance from him as he stood in front of me. He had a guilty look on his face as he met my eyes head on. It worried me. Why did he look guilty? As far as I knew he hadn't done anything wrong when it came to me. Shit, we'd known each other just for a few days. What the fuck did he have hanging over his head when it came to me?

"Your name is Emily Louise Sinclair, right?" He asked me. My eyes narrowed on him, I didn't remember ever telling him my last name. I didn't put it past Lori or Shane to divulge such information to him, but the way he was acting left me unsettled. Slowly, I nodded my head at him, hoping that he'd cut to the chase sooner rather than later.

"You have a brother; Missouri?" He continued, reaching into his back pocket. Okay, now I was getting worried. "Lieutenant Missouri Sinclair of the Dallas PD." He stated more accurately.

Wryly, I nodded my head at him again as he began unfolding what had come from his pocket. It looked like a picture, the frown on my face deepened. No one knew that Missouri had been a Lieutenant, so how the fuck did he know?

"I ran into him on my way out of Kings County. He tried to talk me into heading to Fort Benning with him; he told me that's where it was going to be safest. I asked him about the CDC here and he said the city was dead.

"He told me about you, that you had been in Atlanta but never got out. He figured you were alive. He asked me to keep an eye out for you and to send you to Fort Benning if I found you. Just in case you didn't believe me, he gave me this." Rick explained, handing me the worn picture.

Looking down at it I found the five of us smiling up at me. Missouri was squished in between me and Zane, and then it was Travis and Grady on either side of us. Zane, Travis and Grady were wearing their uniforms. Missouri in his pressed suit and tie. It was before daddy had died but before Missouri had come back home to Dallas for good. It was weird seeing him like that again when the only dress clothes I could remember him wearing the past few years was his dressy blues.

"You really saw him?" I asked softly, looking up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He'd seen Missouri. He'd actually seen a living, breathing Missouri that was on his way to Fort Benning. On his way to where hopefully it was safe and where the rest of my brothers were now waiting for me.

Rick nodded his head, "About a two weeks back. He was perfectly fine."

Half a month. Two weeks. Fourteen days. It was nothing that my big brother couldn't survive. If he had made it that long there was no doubt in my mind that he was still alive. I needed to leave then. I needed to get to Fort Benning. Even if the base was overrun I knew Missouri would hang around. It had been the plan to meet up there. He wouldn't move on until he was sure none of us were coming. I needed to get there. I needed to get to Missouri. If I hadn't dawdled my time away with these people I could've been there weeks ago.

"I'm pretty sure I love you." I grinned; his own smile didn't match the intensity of mine. I had hope again. Something to work towards. The CDC was all fine and dandy but Fort Benning was where my family was.

"So you're gonna be leaving then?" He asked, a small frown working its way onto his face.

"Yeah, in the morning. I have to."

"Are you sure that's the best idea?"

"You just told me you saw my brother and that he was heading to Fort Benning, and then you expect me to not want to head that way too? Are you crazy?"

"I know its family-"

"Yeah, it is." I started interrupting him. "But you have yours now, so it's completely insane if anyone else runs off to find theirs. You're being a hypocrite. You can't just tell me this and then expect me to sit tight."

"It's not _safe_." He replied, stressing the word.

"Yeah, I got that by the way you didn't let us head there to begin with. Why didn't you say anything sooner?" I demanded. He had known the entire goddamn time, since the very start and he hadn't said anything until now.

Clearing his throat awkwardly he removed the sheriffs hat from his head, "I didn't think it was right to send you to your death."

"But now that we're safe you think it's perfectly fine? What kind of fuckery is that!"

"It's been a month. Who knows-"

"You're not the one to decide that!" I screamed at him. Who did he think he was? God? First he tells me my brothers alive and gives me hope and now he wants to rip it right out from under me. He was worse than Shane. At least Shane would let me run off to my death.

"I promised your brother I'd tell you if I found you; that's all I'm doing here."

I scoffed, "Yeah, just a little public announcement from Officer Friendly. This is bullshit. You should've told me the first goddamn time we spoke and you fuckin' know it!"

"I wasn't even sure it was you." Rick tried to explain.

"Did you look at the fuckin' picture before?" He nodded his head meekly. "Well, I don't look any fuckin' different! You knew and now you tell me! You should've told me before we left camp! I should be halfway to Fort Benning by now!"

"Look, Emily, I'm sorry, but-"

"No! I don't want to hear it!" I screamed. I couldn't believe it. This was complete bull shit. I didn't even know if I'd be able to get out in the morning. How Jenner had said the doors wouldn't be opening again rang uncomfortably in my ears as I stared down the good Officer.

"Is something wrong?" Glenn asked, peeking out into the hallway at us. He looked worried as his eyes darted between the two of us.

"_No_. I was just telling Rick how I'm leaving in the morning." I replied curtly, giving Rick the dirtiest look I could muster. I was so pissed at him. Just because he found his family now everyone else's needs were second fiddle and if you wanted to run off and find yours? _Stupid decision_. If he was still looking for Lori and Carl, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that he'd agree with my choice. But now that he had his own it just didn't fuckin' matter if you wanted yours too. What a goddamn hypocrite.

"What?" Glenn blanched, stepping further into the hall with a confused look being pointed solely at me. I wasn't too surprised on how confused he looked, how much I had seen him drinking, I would've been more surprised if he had started spouting off Ancient Greek. "Why?"

"I'm goin' to Fort Benning. There's a chance Missouri is there and I'm not passing it up."

"..How do you know that?" Glenn asked glancing between us.

"Rick told me. He saw him."

"But you can't leave, Em!" Glenn complained.

"Exactly. It isn't safe. You need to stay here." Rick repeated with a nod of his head.

"Look, I wouldn't even be here if you'd been honest to begin with, so you quite frankly don't get a fuckin' vote." I snapped impatiently.

"Do I?" Glenn asked curiously.

"I'm the only one that gets a goddamn vote; my life, my votes." I grunted in annoyance. This wasn't their choice, it was mine. Morales had been able to run off in the other direction without even a fuss from the group. Rick had even given them a goddamn gun. Why couldn't my departure be that simple? At least I actually had a sliver of a chance larger to find Missouri still alive.

"What's with all the noise?" Shane slurred. I gritted my teeth. Okay. Let's make it a fuckin' party. They were all gonna know come morning, so why the hell not?

"Emmy's leaving." Glenn answered.

"What?" Shane pulled a face in my direction and I rolled my eyes. He hated my guts and now he was acting upset about me leaving? What was wrong with these people?

"Alright, it great to know ya'll will miss me, but this is fuckin' stupid." I said shaking my head as I brought the mouth of the bottle back to my lips. This was completely stupid. I was an adult, I could choose if I wanted to leave or not and I did. That's all there was to it. All you had left now was family and if there was a chance Missouri was out there waiting for me, then I wasn't going to pass it up.

"You can't leave!" Glenn complained, though it came out more pitiful than he could've hoped. He obviously wasn't the best at holding his liquor.

"_I can_ and _I am_. End of story." I stated. "Now, I got shit to do, so this is through." I added firmly before I took another swig and turned on my heel.

Now to remember where Daryl had disappeared off to. I was torn between wanting to call the man out and not. If I was really leaving all of them behind for good in the morning, did I really want to know? Or would it end up being something I regretted for whatever short and fucked life I was left to lead. I wasn't too sure, but the JD in my system was telling me to find the crossbow wielding Georgian and well, I'd never been one to question JD.

I don't know why I ever thought that it would be hard to find Daryl. The Southern Comfort apparently made him loud, or rather louder than usual. When I actually came across the bottle wielding man he was leaned up against a wall, with his legs crossed at the ankles and a curious look on his face.

By this point I had finished off my second bottle of JD and was tipsy on my feet. Considering that I wanted to leave in the morning, my choice to keep drinking was questionable at best, but I couldn't justify passing up boos when I didn't know the next time I'd be coming across any. So I was gonna milk it for all it was worth.

Daryl didn't look like much of a light weight and honestly, I wasn't too much of one either, but after not really eating for a few months the alcohol was getting to me quicker than I was used to. This didn't stop me from continuing down the increasingly doubtful road I was on.

"What do you think you're doin', priss?" Daryl drawled at me with a lazy tilt of his head.

"What are _you_ doin', Dixon?"

Sighing, he shook his head in disappointment in me and pushed away from the wall, a small frown creased my face as he moved closer to me. "Didn't we go over this already?"

"Fine; whatcha doin', Daryl?" I sighed with a roll of my eyes. His game might have been cute if it wasn't so distracting, goddammit.

"Goin' to my room. You comin' lil' priss?" He asked with a smirk. Sighing I nodded my head and motioned for him to lead the way, he merely looked me up and down in response. What the hell was his problem?

"_What_?" I whined, it came out more pitiful and annoying than I had meant it to and Daryl actually had the audacity to laugh.

"Can you even walk?"

"I walked here just fine, thank you very much!" I huffed.

Though, that was more a lie than the truth. I'd nearly tripped over my own damn feet a few times and had used the wall for support more often than not. That did not at all mean I couldn't walk, I was perfectly capable if I actually tried focusing. Or at least that's what I hoped…

"C'mere then." My eyes narrowed at his demand and the fact that he was more than just a few steps away; I'd probably end up falling flat on my ass or my face, neither option was very welcoming. This wasn't a win – win situation for me. This didn't seem to fail at pissing me off.

"Can't we just stay here?" I finally reasoned as I leaned myself against the wall closest to me and slid down so that I was sitting on the floor and staring up at the surprisingly amused hunter. It was an interesting shade on him and something I hadn't seen but maybe once or twice before. I figured the Southern Comfort was aiding the funny along tonight.

He shrugged at me, "You're the one that wanted to talk; ain't talkin' out here, so it's your choice."

"Do you always have to make things hard?" I groaned.

He smirked in triumph as he mirrored me on the opposite side of the hall, "What'd Officer Do-Good want?" I frowned; he was more on top of things than I would've liked to be honest.

Taking a deep breathe I sighed. How the hell was this going to go over with him? He'd just lost Merle and here I was finding good news about the whereabouts of my own brother. It was rather shitty circumstances no matter how fucked Merle had been – and he had been extremely shitty and fucked – it still wasn't fair. I had a feeling Daryl wouldn't care for the news too much for the sole reason he wasn't getting his own good news.

It was then that the very rational fear of running into Merle kicked me in the gut like a bulldozer. That wouldn't be good. I could more or less picture how that reunion would go down; it didn't leave me feeling warm and fuzzy. I could only hope the asshole was dead, but a rational part of me knew that shit that evil didn't die that easily. That was like Horror 101 or something, I was sure I'd heard it somewhere.

"Well?" He asked again, persistent as ever.

"Rick saw my brother." It was short, simple, and straight to the point. He shouldn't need any other explanation here.

The smirk he had been wearing slid from his face and was replaced with the more familiar scowl. Not necessarily the reaction I was looking for here, but I was taking it. He wasn't yelling about injustice and having something coming for me just yet, so I was gonna run with it. "He's lyin'."

"He isn't lying. He has proof and well, it's better than sittin' on my ass here." I muttered with a roll of my eyes.

"It's a death wish." He tells me before he takes a long swig from the bottle in his hand. This seems to be the majority consensus on the matter and it pisses me off. We can run off to the CDC on a pipe dream without too much of a fuss. We can sit out in the open for weeks without a second thought. But the moment there actually logical hope and proof it's like the whole goddamn world is ending and it's the stupidest idea they've ever heard of. These people's logic was starting to piss me off.

"Breathin' is one too."

"You can't just go runnin' off like a damn dog." He insists with a shake of his head. How adamant he seems to be on the matter startles me, but I try to remain focused. Get what I wanted out of the conversation with him, then go sober up for the morning and get the fuck out of dodge. C'mon Emmy, focus, I kept telling myself. It was turning out to be harder the longer I tried to.

"You sound like Officer Do-Good." I quip with a raise of my brow. For someone who hates the man he sure as hell sees to see shit from the same side of the bush.

"Shut up." Daryl demanded with a pair of narrowed eyes.

Sighing I tilted to the side and laid down in the abandoned hall, it was quieter than I expected with all the excess energy and boos most of the adults had consumed, but I wasn't going to knock it. Daryl was a different breed when it was one on one and between everything that had happened the past few days I hadn't been able to see the lesser beast.

"Would you miss me or somethin'?" I asked after a short silence biting my bottom lip lightly as Daryl's light eyes snapped back to mine. He didn't seem as offended by the question as I anticipated, which in turn left me more unsettled than I had expected.

"I just know your prissy ass wouldn't be able to survive." He grunted. I rolled my eyes, out of the entire fuckin' group I was among the few that could actually fend for myself. I hadn't done the best job obviously, but still.

"Is that why you told Merle to leave me alone?" His eyes narrowed on me, he either didn't expect me to actually ask the question when he had pretty much eighty sixed it to begin with or Daryl was just being a Dixon and his reaction meant absolutely nothing. There was a part of me that hoped that he'd actually answer the damn question with a legit answer.

"I told Merle to leave you alone 'cause I know my brother. He ain't the holiest motherfucker out there and he had his eyes on you the moment he saw you."

I scoffed, "A lot of fuckin' good that one did me."

"I know," He sighed. "I shouldn't have left him at camp."

"It isn't _your_ fault. It's _his_, Daryl."

"He's still my fuckin' kin, blame lands on me too."

I laughed softly at the irony, "And you're supposed to be the horrible one. Not even Officer Do-Good would take up the blame in a situation like this."

"Stop tryin' to make me feel better." Daryl complained, his voice being muffled slightly by the bottle.

I raised an eyebrow at him, "I'm pretty sure I'm the one who deserves consolation here, cowboy."

His jaw twitched as he stared across the couple feet between us. I wasn't sure where this was going, it seemed pretty downhill at this point but I didn't want to jump off of the downward spiral anytime soon funnily enough.

"I'm sorry." There was no Southern drawl to his voice as he said the two simplest words filled with empathy. They weren't a pair of fake condolences that I had received many a time in my life. It wasn't just something to smooth over the icing of the cake. He meant them; I could tell by the look in his eyes and the seriousness in his voice. He wasn't bullshitting me.

I smiled softly, "Never thought I'd hear a Dixon apologize, didn't think you folk even knew what the word meant."

"Ain't just another inbred fuck." He scoffed shaking his head in disgust. "Got a lil' more manners than that."

"Good to know," He frowned at me. "_Daryl_." A light smirk graced his face. If it was this easy to appease him, I wasn't sure how people had been failing at it for so long.

"I don't blame you, so don't blame yourself." I told him quietly, looking up at him through my dark lashes unsurely. This was turning out to be more of a heart to heart than I had expected, though if I wanted to be honest with myself, I wasn't too sure what I had expected to begin with. Either way, another layer of Daryl Dixon had been peeled back. 'Cause yeah, I wasn't below comparing the snarky hunter to an onion.

Daryl cleared his throat awkwardly a moment later when a drunken Rick stumbled down the hall. I drew myself back into a sitting position as he passed, quite amused that he hadn't even paid either of us any attention. He was so gonna have a headache in the morning, though I wasn't really one to talk.

"Where you sleepin'?" He drawled clumsily pushing himself to his feet. My lips quirked into a smile as I watched the normally graceful man stumble to his feet; he was more swashed than I was.

"On a couch…" I replied uncertainly, he rolled his eyes at my answer.

"You gonna scream your fuckin' head off like the past few night?" I frowned, that wasn't very nice. His brother was the goddamn reason to begin with.

"I don't fuckin' plan on it." I huffed, trying to regain a semblance of balance as I rose to my feet. Eyes narrowed on the Southern Comfort wielding man across from me that was like a goddamn light switch.

"Then you're bunkin' with me." His tone left no room for questioning as he turned and swiftly turned the door knob of the door he was standing in front of and shoved it open.

Well, I could be stuck with Glenn, I reasoned. I didn't enjoy the thought of what he was going to be like in the morning. Before I had even left the room we had been sharing he had been doubled over a trash can. The kid seriously didn't have an iron stomach. Probably shouldn't have given him the JD…

"You comin'?"


	16. Fifteen

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello my dolls! :) I feel like crap, so I wrote this all day; your enjoyment shall me feel better! xD

Over sixty reviews. Sixteen chapters. Over a hundred pages. Over a hundred thousand words. Two months later. **DAMN**. I can't believe we've made it this far! I'm so very happy that we have though; you guys are so very awesome and I love each and every one of you! xD

I love this chapter. It's the official end of S1 and it turned out better than my outline had anticipated. Some of you may be disappointed because they didn't have sex, but c'mon guys, Merle just raped her a little under a week ago. Who in their right mind does shit that soon? And I figure Daryl is a little bit more of a gentleman than that, so I hope you like it. :)

Now, I hope you guys are excited about S2 by the end of this chapter, 'cause DAMN shit gets craycray! I'm really excited to start writing it though, so expect awesomeness soon!

Thank you to my dolls that reviewed; you know how much I love love love you! :3

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>Holy water cannot help you now<br>A thousand armies couldn't keep me out  
>I don't want your money<br>I don't want your crowd  
>See I have to burn<br>Your kingdom down_

_Holy water cannot help you now_  
><em>See I've had to burn your kingdom down<em>  
><em>And no rivers and no lakes, can put the fire out<em>  
><em>I'm gonna raise the stakes; I'm gonna smoke you out<em>

_Seven devils all around you_  
><em>Seven devils in my house<em>  
><em>See they were there when I woke up this morning<em>  
><em>I'll be dead before the day is done<em>

_Seven devils all around you_  
><em>Seven devils in your house<em>  
><em>See I was dead when I woke up this morning,<em>  
><em>And I'll be dead before the day is done<em>  
><em>Before the day is done<em>  
><em>And now all your love will be exorcised<em>  
><em>And we will find you saying it's to be harmonized.<em>  
><em>And it's an even sum<em>  
><em>It's a melody<em>  
><em>It's a battle cry<em>  
><em>It's a symphony<em>

_They can keep me alive_  
><em>'Til I tear the walls <em>  
><em>'Til I slave your hearts<em>  
><em>And they take your souls<em>  
><em>And what have we done?<em>  
><em>Can it be undone?<em>  
><em>In the evil's heart<em>  
><em>In the evil's soul<em>

_Seven Devils by Florence and the Machine_

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><p><strong>FIFTEEN<strong>

A cold sweat drenched my body. A breeze pushed against me as I ran, whipping my hair wildly around my face. My rainbow sock clad feet pounded against the dusty ground. I could hear his voice floating after me; loud and obnoxious slurs rushed against the wind to reach my ears. My breath came with rushed intakes of the stale midnight air.

"I'm comin' for you, lil' girl!" A stream of raucous laughter followed his voice, my heart hammered against my ribcage in a new fed panic as my eyes searched around the darkness for a semblance of safety. There was none. I was alone. Again I was at the monsters mercy; the only problem was that he didn't have any to give me.

Then, up ahead, instead of the clearing of trees I had been heading for, a building erupted from the ground. Wide and tall it loomed over me in the darkness. A roaming fog light suddenly lit up from the roof and called for me to come closer. The building seemed familiar, but in my panic I didn't care, all I needed was safety and out here this looked like the best bet I would find in the middle of nowhere.

The revolving doors gave way to the shove of my hands easily, and I rushed forward and further into the building without too much thought. There was discarded clothing and purses scattered across the floor and I struggled to keep my current pace and not trip over them. My eyes instantly honed in on a door in the back of the room and I rushed forward to get to it.

There was a winding set of stairs on the other side of the door, winded already I didn't enjoy the prospect, but knew I had to keep moving. I could hear him right behind me; he was getting too close for comfort, too close for the safety I was struggling to attain.

The door at the top of the stairs caused me to pause, it looked and felt familiar. The chain wrapped around the handle and a metal loop next to the door with a padlock securing it together. Why did it look so familiar? The sense of dread knotting in my stomach caused a new tendril of panic to spread through my appendages. With numb fingers I reached forward and touched the lock, instantly it fell to the ground with a _clink_.

Breathing deeply, I move slowly across the threshold once I had opened the door. It was pitch black up here, the light that had welcomed me now gone and non-existent. I had a feeling I wasn't alone I stepped on the metal grate lift that spanned a few feet in front of me.

"Looks like you came back for me, sugar tits." He cackled, the sudden noise nearly knocking me to my feet. The knot in my stomach tightened; how had he gotten up here when he had been _behind _me just moments ago? My usual logic gave me no answers, leaving me to fend for myself against the thoroughly amused monster.

Then - with the strength of a semi-truck - it all came rearing back to me.

I remembered what this building was and why this man was chained to the roof. I remembered the decision I had made, sealing his fate to rot on top of the roof. The only kink in the plan that I hadn't planned for was Merle's need to survive. It had been my downfall, and even now as the moon shined down on his face, showing me his amused smirk and sparkling eyes, I knew it wasn't the end of it. I knew that there was another level to this hell I had signed up for and I hadn't even begun to realize just how close and horrible it was.

"I knew you'd come back." He laughed, a Cheshire grin spread on his thin lips. Breathing heavily I made to take a step back inside, but the metal door slammed shut behind me with a loud bang that was followed by the noise of metal on metal. The noise of someone chaining the door. The sound of T-Dog locking the two of us up here.

"Have you told Daryl what you did to me? Huh? That you could've saved me but you didn't? Makin' your momma so goddamn proud!" His voice was loud and coarse, stretching across the few feet between us and slapping me on the face with the intensity it reached.

I couldn't speak, my tongue was numb and my eyes were wide. This was just a dream, I tried telling myself. No one can hurt me in my dreams.

"But, baby, _I can_." He laughed, raising to his feet effortlessly the handcuff slid from his stump and to the ground and it hung uselessly on one side as he stood and faced me. A look of anger and lust etched across his worn face. He looked terrifying in the light as he merely stood there and looked at me. I felt like I was the one chained and locked here. Stuck to wither and die with this man.

"You're dead." I tell him, trying desperately to ignore the way my voice shakes and how unsure those two words come out. But is he really? I have no proof and no idea. For all I know he's stalking Atlanta looking for me. Or worse yet, he's in my dreams to kill me.

"Who told you that bullshit? 'Cause it's a goddamn lie!" He laughs as he advances on me. "'Cause I'm comin' for you baby and this is just the first course." I blink and he's inches away from me when I reopen my eyes. There's a scream building in my throat as he reaches out for me. The second his clammy hand touches my naked arm I release it from my throat.

"Get off of me!" I keep screaming, but I'm not on that roof anymore. I'm shrouded in darkness with the taste of JD old and stale in the back of my throat. Daryl's heavy breathing is easily heard over my pounding heart and quick breathes. He sits at my feet with his head quirked to the side, as my eyes adjust to the darkness I notice the un-amused look plastered across his face.

He doesn't ask me what happened or if I'm alright, he merely offers me a fresh bottle of Southern Comfort. I snatch it from his hands without a second thought and gulp down some of the cough syrup tasting whiskey; I wish for the fiery burn of JD but decide against voicing my dislike.

"Sorry." I offer quietly, embarrassed that I woke up him. Perhaps I had been wrong when I had answered his question. Perhaps it wasn't as easy to avoid his brother in my dreams as I had thought.

"S'fine." He slurs, an expectant hand held out to me for the bottle. With a small smile of amusement I hand it back, the sweetness wasn't what I was looking for anyway.

"You hungry?" He asks in the next breathe as he stands from his perch on the couch. I can almost picture him dragging out a line of squirrels from his pack and starting a fire up in the middle of the room and cooking the bastards. From the un-amused glance he sends me at my laugh, I assume he doesn't in fact carry dead squirrels around in such a way.

Stretching, I try to shake the chill that still remains from the Dixon that haunts my dreams. Food sounds good, better than I think he understands. I'd always been an emotional eater, so the prospect of hunting for some actual edible food sounds like my kind of party. "Lead the way."

"I ain't carryin' ya." He tells me once we're out in the hall. I raise an eyebrow at his hushed voice and outlandish statement. My only problem now was the telltale sign of a hangover lurking in the back of my head; so I sure as fuck didn't need the Southern Comfort wielding man to carry me off somewhere. He must have been more swashed than I was.

"Well I ain't carryin' you either, so we're even." I snap back with a lazy quirk of my lips, he grunts at me in either annoyance or amusement – I can't honestly tell in the darkened hall – and proceeds to step in front of me, taking the cue to lead the way just a little too literally.

The walk to the cafeteria is a silent one. I can't tell if it's just because the switch has been flipped in the other direction or if he's trying to be sneaky. I figure the pendulum can swing either way on this one.

I find myself even more impressed by Daryl as he effortlessly weaves between tables and chairs in the dark. He must have been raised by wolves, I joke to myself as I trail him closely. Somehow the prospect of tripping over either item doesn't leave me all that excited.

"What time are you leavin'?" Daryl asks me as he flips on the light in the kitchen, he doesn't send me a look over his shoulder as he asks like I had anticipated, but merely continues straight to the narrow door in the back of the kitchen where I figure a pantry lurks.

I'm not as surprised by the question as I probably should be in the drunken haze I'm swimming in. I know he knows that even if it's stupid I'm gonna go do it anyway, after all he's really not a shining example of why not to. He had run straight into Atlanta for Merle without a second thought, and Merle hadn't been any Saint. Missouri wasn't either, but sure as hell had a lot more good karma on his side than Merle ever did.

"I dunno," I shrug, leaning against the stainless steel island that sits in the middle of the kitchen. "In the mornin' I guess."

He wordlessly grunts at my answer as he disappears into the pantry, I can hear him muttering nonsense as I hear a few boxes and other things hit the floor. At each one the nonsense becomes more understandable, Dixon is cussin' up a storm because of fallen food. I find the thought funnier by the passing second as the noise just gets worse.

"Stop laughin' at me!" He demands, looking at me with narrowed eyes as he pokes his head out of the pantry.

"Sorry!" I grin. "Do you need help?"

"I don't need any fuckin' help." He stated roughly before disappearing back behind the door. It's quieter now and the fact makes me nervous. He's either mass murdered the food or is going into a meltdown. Somehow the thought that he's mass murdered the food makes me sadder than the meltdown. I was really looking forward to food.

"Are you dead?" I finally ask, with my eyebrows raised I lean heavily against the island, attempting to get a better view of inside the small room without actually moving.

"No." He snaps with a roll of his eyes. With his SoCo still in one hand he emerges from the pantry with the other hand carrying three bags. One looks like pork grinds, another is a bag of peanuts and the smallest bag is jerky. I suddenly feel like I'm ten again and its Zane's job to go shopping when momma and daddy went off for their second honeymoon. That summer all I ate was peanuts, beef jerky, potato chips and cream soda.

"Whoa; the snacks of champions." I quip with a small laugh.

"Hush." He tells me, tossing the bag of beef jerky over the island to me. Catching it easily I wrinkle my nose as I open it. It's the kind of jerky you get in MRE's, the silver packaging and the bold writing stamped across the front telling you what's inside. I toss it back to him without a second thought, to which he frowns at me.

"_Nasty_." I explain, finding the one simple word more than enough of a description for the salted meat. Daryl gives me a look that clearly says I'm insane as he pulls a piece of it out and starts chewing on it. Rolling my eyes I grab for the bag of peanuts he sat down on the island and tear open the bag, taking a handful I pop some into my mouth.

"You like nuts but not jerky. Where the hell did you grow up, priss?"

"I grew up in Savannah."

He wrinkled his nose, "Worse than Atlanta."

"Yeah? And where the hell did your holier than thou ass grow up? Huh?" I asked with a roll of my eyes.

He sniffed at me, "Glascock County."

"So that could be any of the many places that disappear when you blink your eyes..?"

"Shut up."

"C'mon, at least you can say with certainty where Savannah actually is."

"I could point it out on a map." He said loudly, defending himself and apparently Glascock County. I remembered the place, or rather the places that made up Glascock County. Every single time you thought you'd finally found civilization you realized it was a bust because you'd blink and you'd already gone through the small town. Drives to Atlanta hadn't ever been too much fun when we live in Savannah; that much was for sure.

"Whatever. Why did you leave anyway? Glascock would've been way fuckin' safer than Atlanta."

He shrugged, "Merle wanted to head to the CDC, so we packed shit up and well, here I am." The fact that Merle had been the reason they had been heading this way, wasn't all that surprising. He had probably wanted to cause as much chaos as he could for everyone else. He was worse than the damn Walkers up top if we wanted to be honest.

I didn't move or make a noise after he had mentioned his lost brother. I wasn't sure if he was gonna start going off on one of his rants or not. I hoped not, we'd actually been getting along fairly well and I honestly wasn't too eager to break that egg just yet. He seemed to agree as he cleared his throat and glanced around.

"Should head back." He commented as he closed up the bags of food we had opened and quickly put them back into the pantry.

He had a point, though if we wanted to be honest I wasn't look forward to going back to sleep. Every time I had lately Merle was there waiting for me. But I also knew that I wasn't going to feel safe enough for quite a while to even try, at least not until I got to Fort Benning, so this may be my last chance to get any real sleep. It left my disenchanted as I was torn on the matter. It had been easy to fall asleep before 'cause I had been so swashed, but now all I had on my side was a stomach full of peanuts and a light throbbing in my head that was just persistent enough to keep growing. Not things that really cultivated rest.

"Good luck." He tells me once we're back in the room. He's sitting down on the couch opposite of mine. All I can make out is his outline as he lays back and puts the half empty bottle of whiskey down on the floor, a soft clink as he connects with the hard floor at our feet.

His two simple words don't do too much for me as I lay back on the stiff couch. All they do is make me more nervous and apprehensive of what waits behind my closed eyes. I have half a mind to just lay here awake. It'll leave me to my thoughts, but it we want to be honest, that's no worse than my dreams – no matter how docile those dreams may end up being.

"Hey, Daryl," I say softly to the shadows. I know he's still awake, his breathing is heavy and uneven and at his low grunt I know he's listening to me too. "I'm sorry." I don't say it's for leaving Merle behind on that roof, something that seems to be weighing on me heavier than I would've hoped – no matter how terrible the man had been. I don't say it's for putting down Glascock County and I don't say it's for waking him up an hour ago. All I say is the two simple words, letting them hang in the air and sink in, hoping that they'll still my growing conscience.

"Don't be." He grunts. I can hear the couch groan under his weight as he rolls over, facing the back of the couch. But I am, I decide. I'm sorry for things I shouldn't be and I don't know what's worth. Not having the soul to care, or having the soul and carrying every little transgression around on your shoulders. Maybe Bo had been right, maybe I wasn't ready…

* * *

><p>The morning after always left something to be desired. I personally desired a Big Mac with extra pickles and lettuce. Glenn – who sat moaning beside me at the makeshift table from dinner last night – desired a big ass pain killer and maybe some coffee, I really couldn't tell you, his moaning wasn't all that discernible. T-Dog desired eggs. Which is why the man was in the kitchen cooking up the nice powdered ones he'd found in the cupboard. Apparently I was going to have to eat the nasty ass things, even if I had a strong dislike for anything eggy.<p>

Lori and Carol were lucky bitches and didn't desire anything. All they had were a few glasses the night before and were fuckin' peachy and chirpy. I wanted to stab both of them with a fork. Andrea on the other hand, well Andrea should probably desire some anti-depressants. If the look on her face was anything to go by, she wasn't in the brightest of places. The way Dale was eyeing the blonde was a pretty big clue too.

I had yet to see Shane and Rick, but Lori had told us that the latter would be showing up soon. Apparently he was more hung over than the rest of us, which was debatable in my opinion. But, I had decided that I'd wait until the two men were in their roles of authority before I announced I was leaving.

Jenner however, was still my savior. Before T-Dog had disappeared into the kitchen to go make eggs about fifteen minutes ago, Jenner had shown up with Aspirin and Naproxen for whatever hammers we had banging on the inside of our heads. I had nearly kissed the man as I grabbed the bottle of Naproxen from his hands.

Daryl was somewhere behind me – silent and sullen as per usual – as he guarded his pot of coffee. I'd barely been able to get a cup from the bear of a man and was suddenly wishing I had gotten more while I had the chance. Daryl's mood only soured the longer he was semi-sober.

"Are you hung over? Mom said you would be." At Carl's voice of amusement as he spoke to his father, I looked up from the ingrain in the table I'd been staring at in silence as I half-listened to Glenn. Rick looked worse than the rest of us and I sorta wished I had a trophy to give to him for winning that title. He tried to smile at his son as Lori handed him the bottle of Aspirin, he didn't question where the pills had come from as he popped them into his mouth and swallowed them dry. A talent I envied.

Shane came strolling in next, his usual button up with the top four buttons undone and a very not the usual scratch down the side of his neck. The skin was red and irritated, which was enough to discern by that it was recent. I'd bet a cup of coffee that shit had gone down between him and Lori. Shit never was good for the mistress. I nearly snickered at the man as I referred to him as such, mistress that suited the man quite nice.

"What happened?" Rick asked Shane, motioning to his neck.

"Must have scratched myself in my sleep." Shane answered with a shrug that was meant to brush the entire matter off, but Rick was like a dog with a bone sometimes.

"Never seen you do that before," Rick said with a frown.

"Not like me at all," Shane agreed, though the way his eyes flicked to Lori confirmed my suspicions. It was just typical.

"So, I have some news." I announced as T-Dog entered from the kitchen with a frying pan full of eggs and began dishing it out to everyone at the table. I noticed from the corner of my eye that Jenner entered from the hall with an ominous look on his face but tried to ignore it.

"What? Are you pregnant with assholes kid?" Andrea snapped, rolling her eyes in annoyance. Lori even sent her a dirty look down the table as I tried to keep to the task at hand. I was almost done with her. Soon she'd just be a horrible memory and I'd no longer have to deal with the bitchy blonde. The world would be so much sweeter just because of that.

"_No_," I answered, stressing the word. "I'm leaving. Rick came across Missouri two weeks ago and he was on his way to Fort Benning. So I'm leaving." I explained slowly. I didn't want to repeat myself and I had a feeling with Dale and T-Dog that there was a chance I'd have to. I was gonna miss them, but I had to do this. I couldn't pass up the chance.

"What?" Dale sputtered. "When?"

"Today, hopefully." I added looking over my shoulder at Jenner. I knew the only way those doors were opening was if the Doc over there approved it. I thought I'd been rather nice to him since we arrived, so I shouldn't have too much of a problem getting the job done, but you could never be too careful.

"You can't leave, Em! It ain't safe." T-Dog complained as he shoveled eggs onto Carl's and Sophia's plates. I felt like I was listening to a broken record. That's all anyone could tell me. They couldn't give me any good fuckin' reason not to go looking for my family. It was stupid. If you couldn't even give me a real explanation as to why I shouldn't, how did you expect me not to?

"I know. But I need to." Dale continued to look over the table at me with disapproving eyes, though for once, Andrea seemed appeased by me. I wasn't so surprised by the latter or the former if we wanted to be honest.

"I should probably show you something sooner rather than later then." Jenner commented cryptically then, causing all of our eyes to trail to the Doctor. "Eat first and then I have something to show you all." He added calmly as he retook his seat from last night.

T-Dog moved unsurely and gave the Doctor some eggs before he took his seat beside me, putting the skillet with just a few more servings of eggs in the center of the table. The meal was met with silence. I liked to think that it was Jenner's fault and not mine.

After we had eaten, Jenner led us all down the halls and back to the room we had first seen. The control room that had all of the computers. He went straight to one of the stations up in the front, punching away on the keyboard he said loudly and clearly to the computer; "Display Test Subject 19 up on the screen, Vi."

"Showing playback of Test Subject 19." Vi repeated as a loading screen appeared up on the screen on the back of the wall before dissolving into five different screens. The four on the side showed different views of what looked like a human head; it looked like an internal view of what was going on inside of the brain. The bigger screen showed a bigger version of the human head, the brain was shown in a brighter blue color than the rest of the head and there was a countdown below it.

"Very few people actually got to see this."

"Is that a brain?" Carol asked with keen interest.

"An extraordinary one." Jenner answered with a small smile. "Not that it matters in the end." I frowned at his increasingly cryptic nature as I moved closer to the front, whatever this was, it was important.

"Takes us in for EIV."

"Enhanced Internal View." Vi repeated as the screen downsized the four screen on the side and made the bigger one even larger as it expanded to show us the side view of the head. It kept zooming further in until we were seeing the actual neurons firing off inside the brain.

"What are those lights?"

"Memories, thoughts, experiences. It's everything. That's you. Somewhere in all of that organic wiring, all those ripples of light is you. It's the thing that makes you unique and human." Jenner answered. I suddenly felt like I was back in college and stuck in some science lecture. If only then I had had the luxury of someone who actually explained things in a normal way.

"You ever gonna make sense?" Daryl asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Those are synapse. Electric impulses in the brain that carry all of the messages. It determines everything you do until death." Jenner said.

"Death? That's what this is? A vigil?" Rick asked, annoyed, as he moved closer to Jenner. What was so wrong with that? Rick had never had a problem holding one for people he thought were important. He was just solidifying the fact that he was a hypocrite. More like Shane than he'd ever like to admit.

"Yes. Or rather a playback of the vigil."

"This person died? Who?" Andrea asked shocked.

"Test Subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected and volunteered to have us record the process. Vi, scan forward to the first event."

"Scanning to first event." Suddenly, the screen that showed all the pretty lights and sparks fast forwarded to a brain that was nearly dark. There were tendrils of black that were attached to the spinal cord and leeched up into the brain, sucking the very life out of the brain.

"What is that?" Glenn asked.

"It invades th brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into overdrive and then the major organs shut down. Then death. Everything you ever were or will be – gone."

Then, the rest of the lights disappeared as the person convulsed. Now there were completely dead. No light, no nothing.

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked; her voice scared and squeaky as she looked up to her mom.

"Yes." Carol answered somberly.

"She lost somebody two days ago; her sister." Lori commented as Andrea began to go into meltdown mode and Jenner noticed. I had to, but had I had a mental breakdown? No. What Andrea was doing was silly; sure, she had just lost her sister, but there was a time to be emotional and there was a time to not be. Now wasn't the time to go flying off the handle.

"I lost somebody too; I know how devastating it is." Jenner said, trying to console the blonde. "Scan forward to second event."

"Scanning to second event."

"The resurrection times vary widely. We have reports of it happening in just three minutes. The longest we've heard is eight hours. In this case, it was two hours, one minute, seven seconds." Then, the dark brain we saw on the screen slowly began to light up at the spinal cord. Though, it wasn't nearly as bright as it had been before. Instead it was just a small tendril that remained at just the base of the head.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked in shock.

"Just the brainstem," Jenner corrected.

"But they're not alive." Rick stated.

"You tell me." Jenner advised, motioning back up to the screen.

"It's nothing like before; most of that brain is dead, lifeless." Rick answered swiftly.

"Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the human part, that doesn't come back. It's a shell driven by mindless actions."

"My god!" Carol shouted as a light surged through the brain. Dead that person was officially now. "What was that?"

"He shot his patient in the head; didn't you?" Andrea asked evenly, she sounded more emotionally dead than the person up on the screen was.

"Vi, power down the main screen and work stations." Jenner said, avoiding Andrea's question.

"Powering down main screen and work stations." The computer repeated as all of the lights on in the room dimmed before going off completely.

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea asked, upset. What did she really expect though? I hadn't expected anything less. The only thing you could hope for anymore was to just survive.

"It could be a lot of things."

"Or the wrath of God." Jacqui suggested.

"There is that. " Jenner agreed.

"Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere." Andrea insisted. Well, she was definitely going downhill quicker than I would've liked.

"There are others, aren't there? Other facilities?" Jacqui asked.

"There may be some. People like me."

"But you don't know? How do you not know?" Rick interrogated.

"I've been in the dark for the past month." Jenner explained.

"So it's not just you. There's nothing left anywhere." Andrea complained. No, she was wrong. There was Fort Benning. There had to be.

"Man, I'm gonna get shitfaced drunk. Again." Daryl commented, rubbing at his face.

"Yeah, that's nice. But I want to know is why this has anything to do with me leaving." I stated eyes narrowed directly on Jenner. He had a point here somewhere that he hadn't quite gotten to yet, and well, it seemed pretty damn important and I wanted to know. If it kept me from leaving, shit was gonna hit the fan.

"I personally want to know what's up with that timer. What happens at zero?" Dale intervened, motioning up to the wall with one of his hands to where the same timer I had noticed when we first came in. It had gone down considerably. There was an hour left. An hour left to what?

"Oh," Jenner sighed. "That's how much time is left until the generators die. They run out of fuel in an hour."

"And then?" Rick asked expectantly.

"Then the shit hits the fan, I'm assuming." I commented wryly. Nothing ever good happened when a clock hit zero, rule of thumb really. Guess I had been right about this place to begin with.

"Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" Rick demanded.

"When the power runs out a facility wide decontamination will occur."

"Yup, shits hitting the fan." I sighed.

"Alright," Rick announced. "Let's get down to the basement, see what's happening." He then led Glenn, Shane, and T-Dog out of the room and to where he presumed the basement to be.

I remained behind and continued to eye the Doctor. I wasn't going to find anything out running off with them; Jenner was the only one who knew what was going to really happen. It was just too bad he didn't want to talk. Before Rick and his band of merry men had even disappeared out of sight, Jenner was leaving out of the other door, quick on his feet none of us bothered to chase him.

It was fifteen minutes later that things got serious. I was in the room I had been supposed to share with Glenn, making sure everything was rightfully packed when the AC stopped blowing. Five minutes later, the lights flickered for a minute straight before dying completely. It was at this point that I popped my head out of the door just like everyone else was.

Jenner was flying down the hall in his white lab coat as everyone through questions at him, as he passed Daryl he scooped the remaining bottle of Southern Comfort out of his hands and suggested we follow him. Well, I decided, let's see what the crazy man is doing. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea.

"Hey man, I'm talkin' to you." Daryl complained as he followed after Jenner. Apparently everything that was unimportant was being shut down. This didn't fend well for us humans who found actual air to be something we needed. That's what you get though when a computer is controlling shit, I thought sardonically. I still needed to get this asshole to let me out too. I had a feeling though, that that wasn't on his agenda.

"Jenner, what's happening?" Rick asked urgently as he met up with the Doctor at the bottom of the stairs all of us were rushing down.

"All non-vital operations are being shut down. It's designed to keep the computers running until the last possible second. We should be approaching the half hour mark." Jenner explained as we re-entered the control room.

"Right on schedule too." He says before taking a long swig of Daryl's whiskey before handing it off to the disgruntled man. "It was the French." He tells Andrea in the next breathe.

"What?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"They were the last to hold on. Quite close to a cure too the last I heard." Jenner answered.

"What happened?" Jacqui asked, aghast that it hadn't happened already then.

"Same thing that's happening here. No power grid." Jenner told us with a sad shake of his head.

"That's nice, so can you let me out..? Or us out, whatever, I really don't care." I insisted, shoving to the front of the group with a pointed look in the Doctor's direction. By the look on his face, I already had my answer. I didn't realize how dead on I was until he pressed a button and the heavy metal door that could block the way we had just come in slid down and locked. _Shit_.

"What did you just do?" Rick screamed in outrage. From the corner of my eye I noticed Daryl pacing, it wouldn't be too long until he attacked I figured.

"There's no point in struggling," Jenner explains to us. "Everything topside is automatically locked down. When the building runs out of power, he continues, it will self-destruct — a 'decontamination' protocol to keep dangerous infectious diseases from escaping."

"And you didn't tell us this sooner, why?" I asked desperately; this wasn't supposed to be happening. I wasn't supposed to be locked away for my death.

"I told you when the doors close they won't open again."

"Could've been a little more descriptive. Fuck." I cussed, turning away from him in a huff. This was bull shit. I couldn't believe it. No one could. After everything, we were going to die in the fuckin' CDC. I was so not letting Ricky over there live this choice down in the afterlife that much was for fuckin' sure.

"Wait, what's this decontamination process?" Dale asked urgently. Yeah, he did actually have a good point.

"It's an H.I.T." Jenner answered calmly.

"What's an H.I.T.?" Rick asked with a frown.

"Vi, define."

"H.I.T.s - high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosive consists of a two-stage aerosol ignition which produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5,000 and 6,000 degrees and is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired. "

That definitely didn't sound good…

"It sets the air on fire. No pain. An end to sorrow, grief, regret. Everything." Jenner said expanding on the explanation the computer had given us. Like I had said, not good. Daryl chose that moment to make a move on the Doctor, completely outraged he tried to throw his fist at the man, but Shane came up behind him and stopped him.

"You can't just kill us!" Rick shouted at Jenner as Daryl continued to struggle with Shane. Glancing around the room it looked list most of them had gone about and accepted their fates. I frowned, I didn't want to die. Not yet. Not when Missouri and my brothers could actually be out there. Now wasn't the time. Any time but now. I kept begging God for a way out of this.

"You do want this. Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead." Jenner said pointedly, his eyes locked on Officer Do-Good. Well, he wasn't as special as everyone made him, now was he? His only saving grace that he proclaimed to us all and he didn't even believe in it himself.

"What? You really said that? After all your big talk?" Shane growled, offended as he released his hold on Daryl. Daryl was quick to move away from Shane and disappeared behind us without another sound.

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" Rick answered sheepishly, attempting to avoid the wide eyed stares of his flock. We had all believed him and look where it had gotten us. Burning air; how fuckin' quaint was that.

"There is no hope. There never was." Jenner told us loudly, speaking over the muttering of Andrea and Jacqui. I had a feeling there was something going on there but I didn't want to think about it. I had my own problems to worry about. Like getting out of here alive.

"There's always hope. Maybe it won't you, maybe not be here. But somebody somewhere... " Rick said trailing off, that hopeful glint back to his eyes.

"What part of 'everything is gone' do you not understand?" Andrea snapped impatiently. Well, I thought, sign her up for the suicide train.

"Listen to your friend. She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event." What were we? The fuckin' dinosaurs? We couldn't go out like that. I couldn't go out like that. Then, the banging started. Glancing over my shoulder I saw Daryl taking a fire axe to the metal door. A lot of good that would do us. But his actions were better than everyone else's lack thereof. Though I wasn't being too productive either.

"This isn't right. You can't just keep us here." Carol said her voice soft and meek like it usually was as she tried to bring the Doctor to our side.

"One tiny moment - a millisecond. No pain." Jenner answered, unconcerned with Carol.

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die." Carol insisted, louder this time as she held onto her shaking daughter.

"Wouldn't it be kinder, to be more compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?"

"No, it's the coward's way." I hissed.

"Why did you stay all this time if there _isn't_ hope?" Rick demanded.

"I made a promise," Jenner starts, "To my wife — Test Subject 19 — to keep going as long as I could. She was one of the finest scientists in the world, if anyone could have done something about this, it was her. And me?" he admits, "I'm just Edwin Jenner."

"Looks like you got pretty damn far to me." I comment.

He smiles, "For as long as I could. It's time."

"That's what we want," Lori said. "The choice to keep going for as long as we can."

"We deserve that much, don't we?" I asked softly. This had to work; we had to get out of here. Doctor Edwin Jenner had to be swayed. Today was not the day I was going to die. It just wasn't.

"Fine," Jenner sighs, as he leans heavily against the button, the door instantly whirrs and begins going back up. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief.

"I'm grateful," Rick says as everyone rushes to exit the room. Clearly, I notice Jacqui sitting down on the floor, propped up against one of the work stations.

Impatiently I call out to her, "C'mon, we gotta go!" I motion up to the timer for good measure and she shakes her head at me. T-Dog notices our lack of movement and pauses next to me, narrowed eyes as he notices Jacqui sitting down.

"I'm not ending up like Jim and Amy," Jacqui tells T-Dog and I tearfully. "I wanna see my boys again. Now get, you go find your brothers and take T-Dog with you." She says thickly, motioning for us to leave. "While you still have time." She repeats her voice more solid this time as Andrea slides down to sit next to her.

I don't want to leave her; she's family and you don't leave family. But, maybe this is what she needs. Maybe it's time she sees her boys again. Maybe if I knew for sure that my brothers were gone I'd be doing the same thing, so I don't hate her and I don't fight her. As much as it's my decision to leave, it's hers to stay. I only wish she'd made the same choice as me. I don't like the idea of losing one of the last people from my life before. She reminds me of all the good times I had in Atlanta and my heart clenches at the fact that this is the last time I'll ever see her. But it's no good to waste time fighting with her.

"Say 'hi' to them for me." I tell her softly, her face lights up with a smile and she nods her head. Before I realize it, T-Dog has said his own goodbyes and he's hauling ass and my ass along to catch up with everyone else. Andrea and Dale stay behind too, but I can hear Dale arguing with her about staying behind so I figure he'll catch up to us soon.

Once we get to the lobby, we find we haven't missed too much. Everyone's banging chairs uselessly against the break proof windows. I hang back as I watch them wear themselves out; Daryl was the only one that actually looked like he's thinking about how to attack the problem.

Carol, Lori and Glenn come tearing into the lobby with everyone's bags weighing them down, dropping them to the floor Carol takes a step closer to Rick. "Rick, I have something that might help." She says digging around in the old purse she has slung across her shoulder.

"Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it." Shane snaps impatiently as he eyes the meek woman.

Carol ignored Shane and removed something green and small from the depths of her purse. Squinting at it from across the room, my eyes widen as I realize what it is. "Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform, I found this in your pocket." Yeah, she found a fuckin' grenade in his pocket. What the fuck had he been doin' walking around with that? Better yet what had _she_ been doing? Why had she not mentioned this sooner?

"Shit." I whisper shaking my head.

"Alright, everyone behind the wall!" Rick shouts, ushering us all around and behind the wall that was apparently going to protect us. I had my doubts, but I scooped up my two bags quickly enough and followed after the herd.

Rick pulled the pin from the grenade then through it at the window, one minute it's perfectly quiet and then the next my ears are ringing. We don't waste too much time thinking about this as Rick urges us all to move forward. It's a mad rush as we all clamber around. I can't remember how much time was left on the timer downstairs, but I don't think it was enough to calmly walk back to the Mustang.

So we're all rushing across dead bodies and to our cars. I don't keep track of anyone as we flee across the cemetery. I'm flinging open the passenger side door of the Mustang and shoving in my bags before following in after them, slamming the door behind me and falling into the backseat onto my stomach just before the biggest explosion I've ever heard rocks the city of Atlanta.

I don't know how long I lie there, and I don't really care. All I can think about is that I'm actually alive; I actually made it out of that hell. I can finally get to Fort Benning. How much better could things get?

Then, once we've passed the five minute mark, I sit up. My eyes scan the terrain quickly and already I can spot the Walkers lumbering towards the noise we caused. I see the taillights of the Winnebago flicker on a few cars in front of me, followed by Carol's Jeep. Quickly, I climb over my seat and start the Mustang. I still have half a tank. I figure I'll follow them out of the city, syphon some gas and then head out on my own. I don't know if the plan is for all of them to head to Fort Benning or not, but either way I am.

One block away from the destroyed CDC and the resting place of Jacqui and the CB on my dash crackles. Fifteen seconds later, Glenn's panicked voice cascaded through the radio. "Hey, everyone alright?" I want to make the sarcastic comment on the tip of my tongue, but think better of it as I reach out and snatch the CB from its resting spot.

"All fine here, doll." I answer lazily, hoping my voice doesn't sound as panicked and un-relaxed as I really am.

"Em, awesome! We're heading to this rest spot, you following?"

"Yeah, then I'll break off."

"We're all heading to the same place now, Emily. Why don't you stay with us?" Suspiciously enough it's Dale's voice he speaks to me now. I hadn't realized he had gotten out and find myself relieved, until I catch Andrea's distinct whine in the background. Then I'm back to fuming in the Winnebago's general direction.

"Maybe, we'll have to see." I answer shortly.

"How much gas does everyone have?" Rick asks I can see the top of his head in Carol's Jeep. I frown at the thought of him, I'm still not amused. Here we are heading to Fort Benning when we could've already been there. If we'd gone straight there we wouldn't have left Jacqui behind and we wouldn't have learned how lost the world really is.

"Half." I snap over the radio.

"'Bout a quarter." Daryl drawls from his truck, he's riding my ass at the present moment and I can't tell if it's supposed to be cute or what. But it's fuckin' annoying.

"I have the same. What about the Winnebago?" Rick's voice crackles back through the line and I roll my eyes.

"Less than that. Maybe make it out of the city then we'll have to find more." Dale answers.

"Alright, drive safe." Rick says again before the channel goes dead. I'm happy for the silence as I settle further back into the worn leather. I don't miss Glenn's constant chatter and actually revel in the fact that I'm alone. I just lost Jacqui and it hits me in the chest. I refuse to let the tears fall as I keep my eyes trained on the radio. I have to focus; can't be getting into a wreck now.

"Emily?" Dale asks over the radio, with a sigh I pick it back up.

"Yeah, Dale?"

"I'm sorry about Jacqui." His voice is soft and caring. I know he means it and it just upsets me more.

"Thanks." I mutter into the radio before discarding it to the passenger seat. My hand reaches out automatically to the dial on the radio. It's still on the same CD it was the last time I turned the radio on, some stupid one that Missouri sent me. Always trying to get me into the same shitty music he liked. The bass thumps against the speakers at the low volume I have it at; it drowns out the moans that echo around the city and the low hum of the engine. The voice is melodic as it soothes the sadness that's tightened around my heart.

My brothers are out there; I just have to find them.

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><p>The sky is dark; the clouds hide the moon from anyone's view. An animal howls in the distance causing the worn man to jump. He hasn't drank for days, hasn't eaten for even longer. He can't remember how long it's been and he doesn't think he'd like it if he did. He's thankful for the gang of men that robbed from him and knocked him on the head so hard he can't remember a damn thing. He figures it's easier not knowing who you are and what you've lost.<p>

He can barely walk. He's surprised he's made it as far as he has quite frankly. But there's something inside of him that won't let him give up. Like there's this important place he's supposed to be. He doesn't know where and he doesn't know how long it's gonna take for him to get there, or if he'll ever get there, but he's below giving up. So he tells his legs to keep moving ad his heart to keep beating, because he's already late.

He grunts painfully as he steps over a log in the road, it causes the hole in his lower abdomen to re-tear painfully. Reaching a hand up he grits his teeth as he's met with fresh blood. He wonders how long a man can bleed before he dies. He wonders how long it takes for infection to attack your body. He wonders if he'll turn into one of those things if he dies without a bite.

Blinking, he realizes the light blinding him up ahead isn't in his head. He's not hallucinating like he's done many times before. He thinks it may be a house. The thought causes a surge of adrenaline to course through his veins. He moves quicker, he suddenly has hope again and he can't lose it. Maybe there will be people and maybe these people can help him remember. He's excited for the first time in days.

"Stop!" He stumbles over his feet at the sudden voice. An actual word rings through his ears and he sputters to find the right words to say back. He remains frozen to the place as the man that spoke moves closer. With the light coming from another man, he notices one thing; they have guns. His heart speeds up in a panic; what if these people are like the ones that robbed him and left him for dead? He doesn't think, no he knows, he can't survive such a thing again.

"Who are you?" The second man asks gruffly. He immediately notices the leadership the man holds, he knows if he wishes to live this is the man he must woo.

"I don't know." He croaks, his voice is hoarse and the use of it causes his throat to tickle, sending him into a coughing fit. The movement makes his abdomen tear worse and tears spring to his eyes as he doubles over. He hears the cocking of two guns because of his sudden movement and flinches. He wishes they'd kill him now; he has nothing left for them to steal from him.

"Are you bit?" The first man asks, his voice is frightened and he knows that he's noticed the bloody spot on his shirt. He'd have to be blind not to notice.

"No." He whispers, hoping its loud enough for the two men to hear.

"Is it just you?" The second man asks, stepping closer to him. His fear squelches as he's lowered his gun and his motioned for his friend to do the same. Maybe these people aren't like the last ones.

"Yes, sir." He hopes that this is a good way to talk to people. He can't remember and doesn't know. He figures it is, because the last men he talked to weren't polite at all and he never hear them say things like that and somewhere in the back of his mind it feels right.

"You hurt, son?"

"Yes," He croaks. "They shot me."

"Who?" He's not given the time to answer the first man's question as he falls to his knees; a gasp escapes his lips as he falls to the side. He can feel the hot and stickiness of his blood leaking out of him; a stronger flow than before. He must be dying and right when he's found safety. He curses his bad luck as the two men rush forward to help him.

"It's gonna be alright." He's told over and over again as they pick him up by his legs and shoulders.

He doesn't know how long he's carried or how far, but he hears more people at some point and behind the darkening of his eyes he sees more light and faces. His body screams in pain as its jostled repeatedly, apologies are quick on these people's tongues as they explain they're going upstairs. Something tells him he had a room upstairs once and his body relaxes, if only a little.

They set him down on a bed after the comforter and top sheet have been drawn away. He can barely see now, the pain and unconsciousness fighting for him. He barely makes out the shapes of people but understands when they tell him they're gonna help him.

His clothes are cut away and a cold hand touches his skin as it probes at the spot on his abdomen. The man tuts at him and his wound before turning to his people and telling them things quickly that he wants them to fetch. Once they've left the room the man turns back to him and says so clearly he thinks he might be dying. "My name is Hershel and I'm a Doctor. Don't you worry; you're gonna be just fine." He recognizes the voice as the second one, the one that's the leader. He prides himself for pegging it so perfectly before he lets the darkness drag him down.


	17. Sixteen

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello my dolls! :)

Here is the first installment of S2! Next chapter or so things will get more interesting! :) I'm excited to start writing badass Daryl. Now, be warned Sophia is sorta bashed in this one. But what can I say? I really think the little girl made some stupid decisions and Em feels the same way. I hope you guys enjoy this one, it only goes up from here, dolls! :)

Thank you all for the lovely reviews! :) We've reached over** SEVENTY**! I've gained a few new followers and so I say greetings; I love you! xD

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>One track mind like a gold fish<br>Stuck inside my petri dish  
>I can't breath and I can't smile<br>This better be worth my while_

_I feel numb most of the time_  
><em>The lower I get the higher I'll climb<em>  
><em>And I will wonder why<em>  
><em>I got dark only to shine<em>  
><em>Looking for the golden light<em>  
><em>Oh, it's a reasonable sacrifice<em>  
><em>Burn, burn, burn bright<em>

_Numb by Marina And The Diamonds_

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><p><strong>SIXTEEN<strong>

Patience. My momma always told me it was a virtue Belle's like me needed to learn, and then my daddy would come along and say it ain't nothin' a Sinclair knows of – Belle or otherwise. After nearly twenty-nine years of dealing with shit that tests this patience I'm supposed to be aspiring towards, yet don't have a knack for, I figure my daddy had the right idea. My momma – God bless her soul – just didn't understand the ways of a Sinclair.

We already wasted two more valuable days, sitting in that shitty ass pit stop waiting for our savior Rick to return from the city – apparently he was talking to his imaginary friends that are following him. I say it's all in his head, but the man seems pretty adamant about it and I figure if he saw Missouri than maybe these people he's talking to are indeed real and just on our tails. Who knows?

I'm inches away from leaving the bumbling idiots behind and calling it a day. Andrea and her 'I hate you for not letting me kill you' attitude towards Dale was really grating on my nerves. The fact that everyone looked at _me_ as the ticking time bomb rather than the blonde with a suicide issue was really just another nail in the coffin.

In the first thirty-six hours that we spent on the side of the road, I syphoned four tanks of gas, found a half-eaten Big Mac - it had extra pickles and everything the fuckin' luck I have - and then got my foot stuck in a pot hole that was the size of Dallas, I'm serious here. Daryl just thought that one was _so_ funny. Fuckin' backwards redneck crossbow wielding idiot.

Within the last twelve hours we were left out in the open I moved Daryl's shit load of survival gear – you'd think he thought the world was ending or something – from the bed of his truck to the trunk of my Mustang. Apparently Merle's motorcycle doesn't have a lot of room for such nonsense and if my gas tank is getting the last of the fuel from Daryl's truck, then guess who's stuck hauling at least fifty pounds of shit I didn't even know existed. Yup, that's right, me.

Somehow it seems that Dixon is the only one that believes I won't be running off in the middle of the night any time soon; this seems to be popular belief for the rest of them. I've actually had to repeatedly assure Glenn that I'm indeed not leaving. I tend to leave out the _yet_ part while repeatedly explaining this to the delivery boy.

Said delivery boy was dancing in the seat beside me to the tune belting softly from the Mustang's speakers as we drove down the semi-barren highway at a leisurely place. The one time speed limits no longer apply and here I am stuck doing fifty in a seventy mile per hour stretch. Color me un-amused. It's not fair either that Daryl gets to be in front, the lucky fuckin' bastard. Here I am stuck as the damn caboose.

My eyes narrow as Rick begins to slow down in front of me, easing off of the accelerator I glance to Glenn who seems unconcerned with the sudden change. Sighing I flip the radio off, "Ideas." I demand, poking a finger in his direction.

"Pile up." Glenn comments. Well no stinkin' duh, I think with a roll of my eyes. The wall to wall cars that even I can see from the far back of the line was more than enough clue to that, not to mention the flipped semi that's blocking one lane on our side of the four lane highway.

"This is just great," I mutter shaking my head in disgust as Rick comes to a complete halt. We don't have the fuel to turn around and try another way and I don't enjoy the idea of wasting God only knows how many days here moving cars around, but hopefully there's a path we can weasel through. If not then maybe we can find enough gas along this stretch of road so we can just turn around, its less of a waste and I figure we can take back roads to get to Fort Benning instead of the straight and narrow that Rick wants to.

"I'll go see what's happening." Glenn says as he climbs out of the car, I nod my head quietly to him as he goes jogging up to the passenger's side window of Carol's Jeep.

My fingers drum across the steering wheel impatiently as I watch Glenn out of the corner of my eye talk to Rick, on the other side I see Daryl coming up on my side of the car before circling around the back of Carol's Jeep and coming back up on the other side. He doesn't look happy, which just alerts me to how woeful the situation really is.

Glenn rushes back to the Mustang and slams the door shut just as the Winnebago starts moving again up ahead, following Daryl's lead. Once Rick starts moving again, I ease my foot back onto the accelerator. I wasn't at all pleased by the snail's pace we were now going.

"Geez." Glenn mutters as we weave between cars. It looks like more of a graveyard than the one back at the CDC. There were abandoned cars, not so abandoned cars with entire families rotting inside, open doors, and discarded everything littering the road. Whatever had happened here hadn't been the happiest of times. I was glad I hadn't been a part of this mess. I could've gotten stuck on this stretch of road if I had gotten out of Atlanta. It could've been me somewhere in one of these cars.

"Can we even get through here?" I ask looking to Glenn with a raised eyebrow. The second the last syllable leaves my lips, through the rolled down windows of the Mustang, we heard the clear noise of something popping. With another sigh I notice the smoke coming from the front of the Winnebago, next Rick is slowing down and I'm coming to a complete halt.

I can just hear Dale saying 'I told you so, again'. Stupid fuckin' Winnebago.

Glenn climbs out of the car and jogs to catch up with Rick as everyone pools out of the Winnebago. Killing the engine I pull the black rubber band from my wrist and twist my hair back and out of my face. This was just going to be a fun day, I could feel it.

Catching up with everyone else at the Winnebago, I frown. The smoke looks a lot more intimidating from up close. I figure it's the belt again from the sour look on Dale's face as he pops the hood open. Glenn eyes it suspiciously as more heat and smoke spills out of it.

"Problem Dale?" Shane asks at the end of the older man's rant. I find myself amused when I pegged it right word for word.

"Oh nothing, just aside from being stuck out in the middle of nowhere with no hope of-" Dale answers as he continues to shake his head at the mess underneath the hood.

"Don't be dramatic." I say interrupting rolling my eyes as I lean against a Mustang similar to my own, it further proves to me just how lucky I was that I didn't escape Atlanta in my first try. "We're in the middle of a gold mine." My point is further proven as Daryl begins rifling through the backs of open trunks.

"Okay, that was dumb." Dale says as he notices his error, eyeing Daryl as he pulls something from the treasure chest.

"If you can't find a radiator hose here…" Shane says trailing off.

"Whole bunch of stuff we could find." Daryl drawls.

"Syphon fuel from these cars for a start." T-Dog agrees moving forward, Glenn groans at the prospect.

"Maybe some water?" Carol asks hopefully as she holds Sophia close to her.

"As I said; _gold mine_." I say with a smile. The prospect of just how much I could find here leaves me excited. Shit, find enough gas and I could make it on my own. I could turn back around and go another way, 'cause God only knows how long it'll take Dale to fix the hose by himself.

"This is a graveyard." Lori tells us, interrupting what little excitement had formed. I wonder for a second how dumb she really thinks we are. We don't need her pointing out the obvious, nor do we need hear her moral dilemma on the matter. Personally, if I had died here with a butt load of shit, I'd want people to take it. If it meant them surviving another day, than I was totally game with having my grave robbed. I didn't see the problem here and if Misses Do-Good did, then that was on her own goddamn shoulders. "I don't know how I feel about this."

"I'd get over it real quick." I comment over my shoulder as I squeeze between two cars.

"Fan out everyone; anything useful, grab it." Rick announces, clearly not as conflicted over grave robbing as his better half is.

T-Dog immediately heads out with the red gas tanks and water hoses. Carol and Sophia begin picking over cars. Shane and Rick are apparently our sentries and load up on guns before they follow the rest of us out. Glenn and Dale hang back at the Winnebago to try and start solving that big ass problem.

"Stay close." Daryl tells me as he passes me by. I raise my eyebrow at him but find myself obeying as I keep a small distance between the two of us. If anyone is useful to have close by its Daryl, so I don't find myself too conflicted over not being as solo as I had planned.

I find another gas can on the first car I start digging through. It was an older Dodge with a shitty paint job. The can had been sandwiched in-between an ice chest and a sparkly suitcase. After shaking the can and finding it half empty I decide to drag it along with me. I open up the ice chest but don't find anything besides spoiled food.

Moving on to the sparkly suitcase I found clothes. From first glance they looked more zombie apocalypse worthy than the ones I was carrying around. Happily, I find most of them will fit me, without a second thought I begin shoving them unceremoniously into the messenger bag I have thrown across my chest.

Rooting around in the bottom of the suitcase I also find a machete – it looks new, like it's never been used and freshly sharpened. Such a surprise in the bottom of such a feminine suitcase causes me pause. I toss it between my hands carefully, testing the weight out. It seems like a pretty nice blade and I figure whoever packed it wished they hadn't once they got here. It would've been far more useful if they'd just carried it with them. Another person's stupidity is suddenly my treasure as I take it and its sheath and attach it to a loop on my pants.

I'm on my third car – not much in it aside from rotten meat and stale beer – when shit hits the fan. Again. One minute I'm doing nothing but minding my own business, next Daryl's coming up behind me, shoving a dirty hand over my mouth before I can even get what's happening and is shoving me underneath the car I was looting.

"Stay quiet." He tells me curtly as he lays on his stomach beside me; he's finally released his grip on my mouth. I want to ask questions, but figure he had been pretty clear on what he wanted me to do. He's insane, but I'll listen. For now.

I lay there for a solid minute thinking that Dixon has finally lost all of his goddamn marbles when I hear it. The telltale noises of them. The moaning and the dragging of limbs. The clumsy way they bang into anything and everything in their path, not even bothering to avoid the cars. There's lots of them. More than I've ever seen. My heart hammers against my chest as their feet pass in front of my face. I almost scream. Almost.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, on the side Daryl is taking up I see T-Dog. He stumbles right by us, griping his arm tightly as he leaves a gooey trail of blood in his wake. Eyes wide I move to go help him, but Daryl puts his hand on my stomach and shoves me down. My blood boils as I struggle against him. At some point his hand moves from my stomach and back to my mouth. I'm not amused.

Biting into his fleshy palm causes him to release me, with a silent grin I flip myself to my stomach – not as easy as it sounds – and start to crawl. His hand closes around my ankle as he yanks me all the way back underneath, with a growl I kick him. He's making me waste valuable time. T-Dog could be fuckin' eaten and digested by now, goddammit!

"_Stay._" He hisses before he rolls out from underneath the car and moves into a crouch. I frown as he moves quickly to catch up with T-Dog. I don't understand why he's doing it. Him and T-Dog aren't the best of buddies on the nicest of days, so it leaves me suspicious. I watch him for as long as I can before he's hidden by cars and too far away, it's then that I'm greeted by the cruel fact that there's still more Walkers coming.

The stench was unbearable. It smelt worse than Atlanta had. It was like rotting garbage and dog shit rolled into one very ugly wrapper. My stomach was making the short climb up my throat the longer they milled about. It was like they knew we knew they were here but weren't going to attack until we thought we were safe. Clasping a hand over my mouth I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping to block the noises and the smells out.

I don't know how long it took until the moaning stopped. But in my head, it felt like hours. I remained underneath the car even after the moaning had stopped, my eyes were open now and I was suspicious of anything that moved in the breeze. I didn't plan on crawling out from underneath that car until they were twenty miles away – it was a death wish otherwise. If they wanted me out, they were gonna have to drag me out by my ankles.

A new wave of panic clawed in my chest at the sound of screaming. It sounded like Sophia. Why the hell was Sophia screaming? That group had gotten further up the road than me, so the Walkers were probably still close by. What the fuck was that little girl doing? She was a creature easily frightened and should be as quiet as a mouse at this point; she most definitely shouldn't be fuckin' screaming!

When the screaming stopped, I made a stupid decision. I carefully crawled my way out from underneath the car. Shifting to my knees, I remained paralyzed as the screaming started again. Screaming meant noise and noise meant more Walkers, I definitely didn't want to go join that party.

Unsheathing the machete – just in case – I decided that crawling was the best bet for the present moment. Maneuvering the machete in my hand just right so that I wouldn't chop anything important off, I started crawling in the direction I had watched T-Dog escape off to. His trail of blood was especially helpful.

"What the fuck are you doin' down there?" Daryl asks once he spots me. He's throwing a corpse off of T-Dog who looks paler than me; I can still see the steady stream of blood he's losing from the long and narrow gash in his forearm. Embarrassed, I jump to my feet and slide the machete back into its home as I rush across the four or five feet to help T-Dog.

"Shut up." I tell him crossly as we both maneuver T-Dog to his feet, supporting most of his weight we begin dragging him back to the Winnebago. I'm not a happy camper when I feel T-Dog's blood soaking into my clothing. Of course I'd get the side that's bleeding.

"Sorry." T-Dog says hoarsely as he feels me tense underneath him. I nod quietly to his condolence as I try not to think about it. First, we get him back to the Winnebago, then I freak about the blood.

"Don't be a priss." Daryl says to me as we squeeze between cars.

I roll my eyes at him, "Thought I already was one, dumb shit."

"You ain't a priss." T-Dog interrupts with a weak smile.

"Fuckin' flirt." Daryl mutters under his breath, but before I can berate the annoying man Dale's rushing over to us with wide and worried eyes. I spot Andrea behind him, her upper half is covered in blood and she has an even wilder look in her eyes. From the stains on her hands, I gather she just got her first kill. I'd congratulate her if she wasn't such a goddamn bitch.

"What happened?" Dale asks urgently as he leads us into the Winnebago and to the back where we lay T-Dog down.

"Dumbass cut his fuckin' arm." Daryl grunts with a look directed at Dale that adds 'obviously, old man'.

"Get me alcohol and something to make a compress with." Dale tells us, completely ignoring Daryl's comment.

Sighing, I pull out a bottle of shitty vodka that I had found and hand it to the old man before digging back inside the bag and pulling out three plain colored men's crew necks. "Have fun." I tell him as I back out of the room and then out of the Winnebago all together.

I can feel the shirt sticking to the skin on my back. Without much thought of who's around I'm ripping the thin cotton off of my body, spotting the water truck on the other side of the road I cross over to it quickly. Dropping the messenger bag to the road beside me I undo the cap on one of the bottles, seconds later a stream of temped water is hitting my face. Spinning around I struggle to use the soon to be discarded shirt to get the rest of the blood off.

Once the stream is nearly nonexistent and I feel clean enough I grab one of the shirts I had found from the bag. Its pale blue in color and maybe two sizes too big for me with a plunging V-neck that leaves me feeling uncomfortable. But it's better than nothing, I tell myself.

Once I've discarded the bag and recollected the gas can from where it was so rudely dropped back at the Mustang, I begin to wonder where everyone is. I've yet to see Sophia, and since I had barely just heard the little girl screaming bloody fuckin' murder, this leaves me worried.

I find the group of them – sans Dale, Andrea and T-Dog – about two miles from where I had hidden. Lori's holding Carol tightly into a hug and little Carl is holding onto his mother's hand so tightly I figure broken bones are on the agenda. I don't see Rick anywhere in sight and Sophia isn't attached to her mother like glue either. Frowning I stop beside Glenn who's bouncing on his feet as we stare out into the woods.

"What happened?" At my question, the sobs that I hadn't noticed coming from Carol, they increase in noise. Frowning I glance to Glenn.

"Sophia, she's out there with Rick." He tells me with a frown, suddenly the somber mood everyone is in makes more sense. I don't understand why Carol's acting like she's already dead when I'm pretty sure Rick would sooner die before he let that little girl, but I don't question it because Rick's solemn face is approaching us as he makes the difficult climb up to the road.

"Where's Sophia?" Rick asks once he's thrown his leg over the metal divider. Carol's cries become louder.

"You mean you lost her?" Shane asks with raised eyebrows.

"She was supposed to come back here…" Rick explains trailing off uncertainly as his wife gives him a look.

"You _have_ to find her!" Carol sobs.

"Alright, Carol. Carol, relax. They're going to find her." Lori says, trying to soothe the hysterical woman.

"So, I'm pretty sure that's the cue." I comment. "Who's goin'?"

The search party ended up consisting of Glenn, Shane, Rick, Daryl and I. Carol insisted I go along with them. Why? Not sure, but I figure Carol had a big enough aversion to men when she was scared, so Sophia probably did too. Shit, she was probably hiding from Rick in her heightened sense of fright.

Rick had led us back to where he left little Sophia. It was a murky looking creek that was way too far into the woods. It looked like the perfect place to dump a body too. Both Rick and Daryl had slid down into the dirty water. Rick was showing us where he had last seen Sophia.

"You sure this is the spot?" Daryl asks, stooping down to look into the root and vine covered hole Sophia was apparently left. He doesn't seem convinced, and personally, neither do I. This isn't a place I see Sophia willingly climbing into, Walkers on their asses or otherwise. She didn't even like the lake at the quarry.

"I left her right here. I led the Walkers away that way; up the creek." Rick insists, motioning off down in the direction he had gone to prove his point.

"Without a paddle – seems where we've landed." Daryl comments with a shake of his head.

"She was gone by the time I got back here." Rick says upset. "I figured she just ran off back to the group. I told her; head that way and to keep the sun on her left shoulder." Rick says pointing to where Glenn stands up and out of the water. I frown at the delivery boy, if Sophia listened to him, then he's mucking up her tracks. I figured Daryl won't let this go unknown.

"Hey, short round, why don't you step off to one side? You're muckin' up the trail." Daryl says, motioning with a dirty look to Glenn who looks down sheepishly before I yank him off to the side.

"Assuming she knows her left from her right." Shane comments cynically. I find he has a point, which pisses me off. After hearing the story of what happened on the hike to this creepy ass place, I wasn't too enthused about the girl's survival skills. She had fuckin' moved when she didn't know if it was safe or not. Who fuckin' moves right after the last one walks by? Huh? She might have well just crawled out in the middle of it. Would've saved us some goddamn time.

"Shane, she understood me just fine." Rick insists.

"Kids tired and scared, man. She just had a close call. Who says she understood one damn thing you said?" Shane continues.

"Clear prints right here," Daryl comments as he inspects the ground where Glenn had been standing. I smile slightly; maybe the girl wasn't as dumb as we all thought after all. "She did like you said, headed back to the highway. Let's spread out." Daryl adds before I offer my hand out to him and help him out of the funky ass creek.

"Let's go, she couldn't have gotten that far." Shane says, motioning for Rick to get out of the creek. "We're gonna find her. She's probably tuckered out and hiding in a bush somewhere."

Daryl led the way as we backtracked and followed Sophia's trail. Shane and Rick led up the rear while Glenn and I were squeezed into the middle.

"She was doin' just fine until right here." Daryl says as he bends down on one knee in a small clearing to further inspect the Sophia's trail. I frown at his observation, I don't figure what he says is meaning good things. I wasn't too good at tracking animals let alone people, but from what I did understand, the tracks told a better story than words did. "All she had to do was to keep goin', but instead she veered off that way."

"Why would she do that?" Glenn asks with a frown, glancing off into the direction Daryl is pointing at.

"Maybe she got scared, saw somethin'. Spooked her. Made her run off." Shane suggests with a shrug.

"A Walker?" I ask. If that's what happened, then we just need to turn back now. I'm sure we won't like what we find.

"I don't see any other footprints. Just hers." Daryl tells us, shaking his head.

"So what do we do? All of us press on?" Shane asks Rick, looking up at him with raised eyebrows.

"No, it'd be better if the three of you get back to the highway. People are gonna start panicking. Let them know we're on her trail and are doing everything we can. But most of all; keep them calm." Rick answers. I frown slightly at being told to head back. I don't necessarily want to be out here looking, but I don't like the idea of being told I can't either.

"I'll keep them busy; scavenging cars, movin' 'em around. I'll deal with it." Shane nods. "C'mon." He tells Glenn and I. Glenn is quick to follow after the man but I falter, Daryl notices this and nods his head up at me.

"Stay. Might end up needin' a woman." I frown at his choice of words but relax when Rick agrees. As much as the man annoys me right now, he has honorable ideas at heart when it comes to Sophia and well, I didn't need to be an unwanted tagalong.

"Lead the way." Rick tells him, motioning off in the general direction that Daryl had indicated she had gone. Standing, Daryl nods his head and silently goes off further into the trail. Rick motions for me to go next before following after me.

"Trail's gone." Rick complains fifty feet later. I didn't agree if you looked just right you could still make out the outline of her footprints. They were getting fainter, yes, but they were still there. This was still the right trail. My only worry was why they we're getting fainter.

"Nah, still here. Just faint." Daryl replies quietly. "She came through here." He adds, motioning to a foot in front of us. Rick doesn't necessarily seem to agree with the observation, but follows. Apparently he's in the same boat as I. The one where it's better to just agree.

"How can you tell? I don't see anything. Just dirt and grass." Or maybe not.

"You want a lesson in trackin' or to find a lil' girl? Get our asses off that interstate." The choice is obvious and Rick quiets. I'm thankful for the silence; it's much more stressful out here when you have to listen to Rick's chatter. I swear the man never shuts up.

The further in we go, the thinner the trees get. The only advantage I find to this is that it's either to see something coming for you. Hopefully, there isn't anything coming for us, but with Sophia missing, you can't be too sure. The further we go, the more on edge the two men become. It's not making me any calmer either, and for once I wish I'd done what I was initially told to do. Things may be miserable back on that interstate, but at least it wasn't goddamn eerie like it was out here.

It's not a good sign when we hear leaves rustling. Or it is, 'cause it may be Sophia. I don't know which one is more likely at this point as Daryl tugs me to the ground. I remain further back as the two of them move closer to the noise. Rick motions to Daryl that it's a Walker. The idea of Sophia being chewed on suddenly gains more merit.

The two of them trade hand gestures before going off in two separate directions. Daryl motions over his shoulder for me to stay put before he goes down off of the ledge. Rick's on the opposite side and runs down the incline to catch the Walkers attention. He whistles and then the moaning grows louder. From where Daryl is I see him aim the crossbow before firing a clean shot to the idea.

"Sophia!" Daryl shouts I glance around to catch any reaction there may be up here. There is none, there's nothing but the birds and wildlife.

I hear the two of them talk back and forth and make to go down there and see what's happening when Daryl's voice causes me to pause. "Keep your prissy ass up there!"

I frown, "Why?" What the fuck did they find that I can't see?

"'Cause I said so, dammit!" He shouts back indignantly. I can't believe I'm actually listening to him, but I remain where I am. Instead, I begin pacing. I don't like not being part of the loop and as their muttering between the two of them returns, that's the only feeling I have. I feel like I'm a little kid again and Grady's not letting me into the goddamn tree house.

The audible squish I hear causes me to pause. What the fuck are they doing? "What are you doing?" I ask curiously as I hear it again and again. It's not a very pleasant sound.

"Nothing!" Rick answers, though his voice is higher pitched than normal. I don't believe him, it's something and I'm a little put off that I wasn't included. Seriously, whatever it was I could handle it. I'd made it this far, hadn't I? There wasn't too much I hadn't seen. Though I guess I hadn't necessarily made my case today with T-Dog's blood and all.

"You're such a shitty liar!" I call out with a roll of my eyes.

"Shut up! Tryin' to focus!" Daryl demands.

"On..?" I'm met with silence and my frown deepens. I take a step closer to where they're hidden, my foot connects with a branch and it makes an audible snap. With a sigh I curse my not-so-silent approach.

"Stop makin' noises! We're comin' up!"

I raise my eyebrows at them in question as they approach. They have bloody work gloves on and look like they've seen a ghost. Daryl's wiping his knife on his pants before he sheathes it.

"Let's head back." Rick says as he passes me.

When Daryl passes me I sniff at him suspiciously and frown, "Why do you smell like you died?"

"Walker." He replies simply, not even glancing over his shoulder at me as the two of them backtrack quickly. I glance back to where they just were with not nearly as much curiosity before rushing to catch up with them. Now I know why the noises were so familiar, and fuck if I wish I didn't.

"Sophia?" I ask carefully once their skin tones aren't nearly as sickly looking.

"No. Woodchuck." Daryl informs me. Woodchuck? I don't bother trying to picture that one.

"What are we gonna tell Carol?"

"We'll try again in the morning. We aren't leaving her out here." Rick responds, his voice his tense and quick. "Daryl's leading the search from now on." He tells Carol the same things once we return to the interstate. Carol's sobs begin again the moment she notices we're without her baby. I flinch at the shrillness of her voice as she screams Sophia's name.

"Is that, is that blood?" Carol asks when she notices the stains on Daryl's jeans. Glancing down along with everyone else, I find that it's not the prettiest sight. I'm suddenly glad I wasn't a part of that effort.

"We found a Walker. There was no sign of Sophia; it's okay." Rick says quickly, trying to calm the increasing panic of the woman.

"How can you know that?" Andrea asks, her usual sour tone ringing against the air.

"They gutted it, you idiot." I tell her with a roll of my eyes. If the evidence they were didn't answer your question just by itself. Carol sits against the railing on the road as she begins to hyperventilate, Lori moves to comfort her.

"How could you just leave her out there to begin with? All by herself? She's just a little girl!" Carol complains to Rick. I shake my head at the irony but remain quiet. The only reason Sophia is out there to begin with is because she didn't think before she acted. She's a silly twelve year old that should never have moved until she was told it was safe. It was no one's fault but Sophia's.

"We still had two Walkers on us. I couldn't stay with her and protect her. The only way I could protect her was to draw them away and that's what I did."

"He didn't have any other choice." Shane intervenes, jumping to his friend's defense.

"You left my baby! How is she supposed to take care of herself out there?"

"It was my only option; I didn't have any other choice." Rick tries to explain, his voice is sorrowful and I feel bad for him. He did all he could with what he had to work with. Why can't Carol understand that?

"I'm sure nobody doubts that." Shane comments.

"My little girl left out in the woods." Carol sobs; just lying on the guilt to Rick's shoulders that much more. He walks away as her sobs become incoherent.

I can tell that he's upset, that he blames himself. He's carrying a silly little girl's stupid decisions on his shoulders where that's not the place it belongs. He could only do so much until the guilt rested with her. It was her choice to move out from under that car and it was her choice to leave that ravine. Carol shouldn't be upset with anyone other than Sophia.

When we found her, she was so getting a lecture.

* * *

><p>I don't think anyone got sleep. Between Carol's hysterical sobbing and the general unease we all felt after all the Walker's passing through, I figure it was nearly impossible. At the first signs of light, we were all ready to go out there looking again. All I was hoping for was a quick find so we could get the move on again. Days and days were being wasted on things that shouldn't have happened.<p>

"Everybody takes a weapon." Rick announces as he unrolls an arsenal of anything sharp out onto the hood of a car. I'm leaned up against the Winnebago beside T-Dog – who looks like fuckin' shit warmed over twice – as Rick begins his speech. I find it useless, we're all ready to go as it is so one of his pep talks isn't gonna do us any good.

"What about the guns?" Andrea complains.

"We've been over that." Shane says, leaving me under the impression that the interstate was just a bucket of fun yesterday.

"Why the fuck do you want a gun? You can't even shoot." I comment with a roll of my eyes. The least she could do is actually know how to work the damn thing before demanding one. Doesn't help either that the only thing I'm pretty sure most of us see her using one for is blowing her goddamn brains out. Not that I'd mind personally, but I have a feeling she'd do it somewhere where it'd be hard to clean up, so for now, I'm against Andrea wielding guns. Actually, scratch that, I am forever against Andrea wielding guns. I figure she'd shoot me before she killed herself.

"Exactly," Shane starts. "If you don't know how, then you don't need one. It's a safety hazard for everyone. Could endanger us all if a herd is passin' by and you just happen to pop one off. Not good." An uncomfortable chill sweeps up my spine as the devil spawn agrees with me. Hell must obviously be freezing over.

"You need to get over it." I add with a cheeky smile.

"How can she have a gun and I can't?" Andrea asks in outrage, motioning to the shotgun slung over my shoulder.

"She knows how to shoot. Can we move this along?" Daryl intervenes in annoyance as he glances between the two of us. At everyone's silence, he seemed pleased and continued. "The idea is to take the creek up about five miles and then back up around on the other side. The only landmark she has is the creek, so she should by close by."

I glance at Glenn wearily as he tosses some sort of knife back and forth excitedly. "Calm down." I instruct with a pointed look at the younger survivor. He blushed at the instruction before lowering the weapon to his side.

"Stay quiet, stay sharp. Keep distance between each other but stay within sight." Rick instruct us as Daryl turned and made way for the woods.

"Stay out of trouble." T-Dog tells me as I shove off of the Winnebago.

Smiling cheekily at him I pat him on the shoulder, "No promises. You better rest up."

The big talk between Andrea and Dale happened before we officially headed out. It was exactly like expected it. Bitchy, self-loathing and all around a bitter time. I didn't bother paying either of them any attention like everyone else did. The rift between them was rather obvious – Andrea was pissed because she didn't get to die and Dale was pissed because she wasn't happy she didn't die. It was one mad circle I didn't want to be a part of.

The first hour was only two things; hot and humid. We didn't find anything, hear anything, see anything or smell anything. Everyone seemed disgruntled the further we went without a clue or a sign. I was on that side of the fence as present. The sooner we found Sophia the sooner we moved on.

Then, we struck gold. Or rather, we thought we struck gold. There was a tent. It was out in the middle of nowhere and from far away actually looked rather safe. The natural idea was that if it looked safe to us than it probably looked safe to Sophia, so there was a chance our missing kid was hiding just inside the nylon.

Rick motioned for all of us to stop walking as Daryl carefully approached it. Carol called Sophia's name proclaiming that it was mommy. There was no quick response, so Daryl carefully began to unzip it, his knife at the ready.

Sophia wasn't hiding inside. Instead it was just another man that had opted out. I didn't know which was worse. Then the church bells started. Immediately we were all running in the direction it sounded like it was coming from.

"Where is it coming from?" Rick asked in a panic as we all paused in a clearing. It was hard to tell, it was echoing all around us.

"Damn, I don't know. It's hard to tell." Shane responded in annoyance.

"I think it's that way, I'm pretty sure." Rick added, pointing straight ahead.

"Maybe Sophia hears them too?" Carol asked hopefully. Well, if there was one thing out here that'd feel safe, it'd be a fuckin' church. It was as good of an idea as searching blind was. I was game.

"If someone's ringing those bells, than they may be calling others." Glenn commented. The idea left me uncomfortable. Others? Either other people or more Walkers I didn't enjoy the thought.

"She could be ringing them herself." Rick proposed as we rushed straight ahead.

"Either way, it's time to haul ass."

When we finally find the church, it's nothing special. It's small and probably didn't have a congregation larger than a hundred. It's a Baptist church and reminds me of Texas. My lips quirk into a smile as I remember all the Sunday's I spent in such a church with my momma.

"That can't be it. Ain't got a steeple, no bells. Rick!"

Rick quite frankly doesn't care if Shane thinks it's the wrong church or not because he surges forward and up the steps. The doors are a dark red and he pauses at them to wait for Daryl and Shane to catch up. Silently he gestures to them to be ready before he opens the doors. They swing open to reveal three Walkers. All dressed in their Sunday best.

It leaves me feeling funny when we spot them sitting so normally in the pews. It makes me wonder again if our souls really leave when we turn into one of those things. Jenner claimed that it did, claimed that without the light we just weren't ourselves. But, what if we were? What if this was the world's karma and we were trapped inside? What if everyone walking around like that was still inside, just not in control? It left a bitter taste in my mouth as the three men dealt with the Walkers.

Rick went after the one of the far left with the machete, cracked the skull clear open with one swing. Glenn passed the clef to Daryl and with a few swings he had taken down the single woman with the veil on. Shane handled the final one that sat the closest to the front, out of the three of them he was the most brutal. Four, five, six slices to the head before he finally stepped back from the bloody mess he had created.

"Hey, J.C., you takin' requests?" Daryl snarked up to the bleeding statue as Rick shouted out Sophia's name.

"There's no steeple, Rick, no steeple." Shane repeated to Rick as he came back with no sign of Sophia. Then the bells started ringing again, we were all quick to run back outside. It was then that we realized that this was indeed the right church; it had a loud speaker and was on a timer. Glenn turned it off without too much effort and we were left with less hope than we started with.

"I'm gonna go back in for a minute." Carol informed us weakly before she disappeared back inside. Biting my lip I decided to follow her in, I hadn't gone to church for years, but maybe right now was the right time to strike up a conversation with the man.

Taking a seat in the back pew, I decided that I wasn't praying for Sophia. I was praying for my brothers. I was praying for Zane, Grady, Missouri and Travis. I was praying for them. That little girl didn't deserve my prayers. She'd decided to run off all by herself. She had gotten herself into this mess and the only help she was getting from me was me being out here wasting my time and looking for her. She didn't deserve anything else. My brothers though, my brothers deserved a goddamn prayer vigil if they were still alive. And they _were_.

I prayed that Missouri was alright. That he had gotten to Fort Benning and everyone else was there, waiting for me. I prayed that they were patient and didn't think me dead. I prayed that none of them had been bitten. I prayed that they were all locked safely behind Fort Benning's walls. I prayed that they'd be there when I got there. I prayed that I'd make it there. I prayed for everything to just be alight. I needed something to be alright.

"Still believe in God, huh?" Daryl asks with a laugh as he sits down in the pew beside me. I don't know how to take the question. It seems awfully sarcastic in nature, but its Daryl and you never really know when dealing with him.

"No." I answer with the tip of my head. "Figured it might make me feel better, talking to a man who maybe has a plan for everything. Makes me feel better to think there may be a plan for us in all this chaos." I can hear my momma rollin' in her grave at my admittance. She raised all five of us to be God-fearing individuals. Hadn't stuck, obviously.

"Whatcha prayin' for?" He questions, quietly this time. I can spot Carol lifting her head in interest. She wants to hear that my prayers are for Sophia, even if I don't believe. She wants to hear that I'm praying for her safe return to us. But I'm not. Sophia isn't in my prayers.

"My brothers. That's all I ever pray for."

* * *

><p>He's decided that he likes Hershel and he likes his family too. They're nice and have treated him with a lot of care since he stumbled onto their farm. Hershel's even offered him a place in the house for as long as he wants to stay.<p>

They've given him a name too. After a few days with just being called boy, Hershel decided he needed one until he remembered his real one. They call him George. He likes the name. George thinks George fits him.

George still can't remember who George really is. But, George does remember now that he's allergic to citrus – which came from a trial and error phase Patricia had been doing with him for the last few days – and that he can't ride a horse for shit. Hershel says they'll work on that.

Maggie and Beth are working on a personals ad as a way to remember little things about himself. George doesn't quite get what's so funny about such a thing, but he humors Hershel's daughters every night after dinner as they ask him insane questions.

Today is the first day Hershel is giving him full reign of the house. Which really just means he doesn't have to be laid up in bed for most of the day. Apparently his gunshot wound is doing good enough now that he can actually start pitching in. George is excited about such a prospect. Today, to start him off easy, he's helping Patricia make breakfast. He likes Patricia, she reminds him of someone he loved.

They're going to make eggs and biscuits for breakfast. When Patricia tells him to start cracking the eggs he pauses. For a second he feels like he shouldn't be making eggs, someone important hates the very thought. He struggles to remember who exactly doesn't like the eggs and why but he comes up short. After a worried glance from Patricia he returns to making the scrambled eggs. The who behind the feeling bothers him all morning.

Otis – Patricia's husband – wants him to go out hunting with him, apparently a deer has gotten pretty close to the property line and Otis is interesting in finding it and bringing it back to the farm for some venison. Patricia apparently makes real good venison. Hershel advises against it when Otis brings it up at breakfast, but leaves the decision up to George.

George decides it might be best if he waits to go hunting and instead helps the woman folk out around the house. They insist on babying him after he helps them move one of the couches in the parlor and tears a few stiches, a new stain of blood appearing on his fresh shirt. He's left to kitchen duty after that.

"Patricia told me you looked like you remembered something this morning." Hershel comments as he comes into the kitchen. He has a kind smile on his face and George is completely at ease with the man, something that is a contrast to how George was when he first wake up four days ago.

He thinks about how he should answer his question when he didn't really remember anything at all. Hershel says everything matters, but does a simple feeling mean that much too? George wishes he remembered more than just that simple and fleeting feeling, but he doesn't and he feels bad admitting to such when he knows Hershel wants him to remember. He says it's a horrible thing for a man to forget where he came from.

"It was just something small…"

"What was it, son?" Hershel asks, persistent like he always is.

"Just something about eggs. I remember that someone doesn't like eggs, it felt weird making them this morning." George finally admits with a sheepish smile.

Hershel laughs and smiles at the younger man. "That's something, George."

George grins and nods his head in agreement, he supposes it is something, if even a small something. As he continues making the potato salad he wonders if he'll ever remember more than feelings and vibes he gets from certain things. He hopes that he doesn't sometimes when he watches Hershel tell stories about his wife. He doesn't want to remember all those places and people he misses. He wonders if that's being selfish. It is right to not remember people who deserve to be remembered?

His musings are however cut short when a gunshot rings out. Hershel straightens up on the other side of the island and looks to George for confirmation that he hadn't just been hearing things. At the slight nod of George's head, Hershel rushes to the back door and flings it open. George follows after him in a similar panic. Otis was out there hunting. He could have found the deer or he could've found something else.

When Patricia rushes outside to the wrap around porch the two of them are standing on with panic filled eyes, he remembers something. It's nothing all that important, just something someone important may have told him once or twice. He can remember the voice that told him, but not the face. The voice is soft and sweet, melodic really and as he struggles to remember the importance of it, it actually leaves him calmer than he's felt for days.

_"Family it means no one gets left behind, and no one is ever forgotten."_


	18. Seventeen

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello my dolls! :)

...this was supposed to be up like on Thursday of last week, wasn't it? Oops. Sorry, my dolls! I just got a new job as a Cashier at Wallyworld and well, I'm pretty sure the HR Manager fucking hates me! She's given me really shitty hours and I'm to the point where when I get home all I want to do is eat and sleep. That however doesn't mean Emmy's story is being abandoned! It just means that updates will be really random from now on.

I'm rather happy with this one even if it's shorter than normal - cause well, Emmy gets flustered then there's a WTF? moment at the end that most of you are expecting. I'm excited for the chapters that follow! I just started officially watching the second half of the season, so I have A LOT of ideas bouncing around. :) Also, I feel like pointing out that I really fucking hate Lori. She's evil, she needs to be eaten and that is all.

I love my reviewers! Though I haven't heard from a few of you for awhile; I hope you're alright! I love you all! xD I've received new followers in the past week too, so HELLO OUT THERE! :) I hope to hear from your guys; reviews make me happy and when I'm happy I wright, so there's my helpful hint, dolls!

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>What have we to think<br>In a world that has stopped thinking  
>Is there anyway to know<br>What is good, what is bad  
>All the lines are fading<br>But are they fading?  
>Or are they being erased?<br>Or have have they slowly changed?  
>I can feel the changes.<em>

_Don't cry for lo,_  
><em>Our time is coming closer.<em>

_After the Fall by We As Human_

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><p><strong>SEVENTEEN<strong>

"Where do we go when we die, Missouri?" A twelve year old me asked casually over the burger and fries that sat on the retro diner table in front of me. Missouri was home for the summer from college and had whisked me away from the streets of cookie cutter Savannah to a small cow-dunk town a few hours north. Apparently Dell's had the best burgers in all of Georgia, or so Missouri kept saying.

Missouri's eyes widened as he finally realized the question I asked. He's a little out of practice when it comes to dealing with me now after nearly six months apart, we haven't seen each other since Christmas and even then our bonding time was cut short so he nearly chokes on his burger in the process of trying to figure out how to answer. At the time I'm sure that he's trying to think of the answer momma would want him to give.

"Heaven, Em, isn't that what momma's always saying?" I frowned at his answer. His voice doesn't sound the same anymore and the twang he used to have is nearly nonexistent. He no longer sounds like Missouri Sinclair, instead an imposter that's spent too much time back east.

"But what about when we don't deserve heaven?" I asked again, he's frowning at me now as he leaned back into the booth with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Come on, Em, you've gone to church all your life."

"So?" I complained waving a French fry in his direction. "I want to hear it again."

"You're lucky you're my favorite sister." Missouri teased snatching the French fry right out of my hand.

"I'm your _only_ sister, stupid." I replied with a roll of my eyes, stealing a French fry in retaliation from his plate.

"Yup and you're my favorite." He grinned. "Now this is when you tell me I'm yours, Emmy-boo."

I pouted at him, "Momma says I can't have favorites."

"Momma also says that pops can't take you hunting, but that doesn't do too much good, does it?"

"Fine, you're my favorite, Missy." I snapped impatiently. "Even if you're gonna be a lawyer." A smirk graced my face at the end as he narrowed his eyes on me. If there's one thing I had been good at twelve it was getting my big brothers' goats.

"Is Zane bullshitting you again?" He sighed shaking his head. Ever since Missouri had run off to college with the idea of becoming a lawyer instead of enlisting like Zane and Grady, it had been a topic of strife between the triplets. I personally thought it was stupid; who cared if Missouri wanted to be a soldier or a lawyer? I sure as hell didn't.

"Nope." I responded, making sure to pop the 'p'. "Grady is."

"When the hell was Grady home?" He frowned.

"He came home for my birthday." My voice sounds more hurt than I had meant it to. Missouri had promised he would come home for that weekend in January nearly two decades ago, but had opted out at the last second. I still hadn't necessarily forgiven him that summer, and the moment I had said it, he understood.

"You know I was busy, Em." He said, trying to explain himself but I merely continued to frown. He had always been the brother that included me and made time for me no matter what. He was the one to dress me up as a boy at six so I could go to Boy Scouts with him. He was the one that had carried me all the way home when I broke my ankle his senior year in high school instead of staying at the lake with his friends. He was my favorite, he was supposed to always be there.

"So?" I pouted. "You _promised._"

"So you think I'm going to hell then?" I nod my head curtly at him, pushing the plate of half eaten food away from me. "That's not very nice." He said, chiding me like momma would.

"That's karma." I informed him with narrowed eyes.

"I'll make you a deal then; I'll never ever break another promise to you for as long as I live. I'll always come back for you. The only thing that will stop me is death. Okay? I'll never break another promise to you, Emmy-boo."

I eyed him curiously before finally nodding my head, my hand went out to him with my pinky extended and he laughed as he hooked his own pinky with mine.

"Your turn, it's karma after all."

"I promise I won't burn all your underwear ever again."

"Emmy-"

"Or your socks."

"Em-"

"Oh and I'll always find you too. I figure it'll be easy if you don't have socks or underwear." I giggled sheepishly, peering up at him through my eyelashes. I had been so angry with him that I had actually burned all his socks and underwear that he had left behind. I had almost moved onto his shirts before Travis caught me.

"Have I told you how much I've missed your nonsense?" He asked with a laugh and a quirk of his lips. I shake my head at him. "I missed you, Em."

"Then you shouldn't leave! Travis is driving me insane!"

"Travis is graduating next year, you don't have to worry about him for too long."

"Yeah, but that's a _year_, Missy. A year! You need to come home. Now." I informed him sternly.

"What if I told you that I am?"

"I'd shit bricks!"

"You're obviously spending time with Zane too." He said with a frown.

"Are you telling the truth? Are you coming home?" I asked excitedly, bouncing up and down in the seat.

"Soon." He replied with a grin.

"No freaking way!" I screamed excitedly, causing the attention of many of the customers around us to look at me with wide eyes. Grinning sheepishly I ducked my head down as Missouri glanced around with narrowed eyes, quickly diffusing the problem.

"Way. You wanna head home?" He asked standing and throwing a couple of bills to the table.

"Not like I have a choice." I quip as I follow after him. "So would you come looking for me if zombies took me?" I asked as the door of the diner closed behind us, he glanced over his shoulder at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Zombies? We're into zombies now?" I shrugged at him. "Zane." He continued shaking his head.

"Nope. Travis." I grinned at his sigh. "So? Zombies?"

"Would I save you from zombies?" Missouri repeated unlocking his '87 Ford truck. "I don't even know why you're asking, Em. Of course I'd save you, you're my baby sister and even if Zane thinks it's his god given right to protect you, I'd be the first one chopping off zombies heads. I'd be like a goddamn gladiator."

"So you pretty much don't want me torching the mattress then, huh?" I asked with a raised eyebrow in his direction.

"Please." Missouri laughed before closing the passenger's side door and going around the front of the truck. Once he had climbed into the truck himself he stuck the key into the ignition and turned the engine on and then flicked the dial for the radio.

"I'd save you too." I informed him as we pulled out of the parking lot.

"From zombies?" He grinned.

"Zombies, crazy girlfriends, oh and even a poodle."

"The poodle part worries me…"

* * *

><p>"Why are you smiling?" Glenn asked, jarring me rudely from the daydream I had fallen into. The Georgia sun was beating heavily down on us through the canopy of trees as we made our way back up the side of the creek.<p>

Shane, Rick and Carl had decided to go another way to strengthen the efforts of looking for Sophia. I had been on the side of the line in the mud that had been against further dividing into groups, but like always, the logic went unheard and here we were scattered across a few miles in three different groups.

Lori and Carol were hanging in the back of the group, I could hear Lori's constant reassurances being passed to the distraught woman. I was just happy that the sobbing had stopped, I was near ready to kill the woman when we had first left the church. Andrea was skirting around on the sides, going too far off in the wrong direction before popping back into view. Daryl was twenty or so feet ahead of us at all times.

"What?" I questioned, glancing at the delivery boy from the corner of my eye. He laughed at me and bumped his shoulder into mine. I could tell he was trying to make light of the heavy situation that was resting on all of our shoulders, I had to give him credit for that much.

"You were smiling." He repeated with a smile of his own.

"Oh," I muttered frowning. "It was nothing."

"Come on." Glenn whined.

"Would you shut the fuck up, slant eyes?" Daryl hissed over his shoulder. Daryl was in a…shitty mood. That was a nice way to put it. He'd been a royal bitch since we left the church. He was like a goddamn light switch.

"So what do you think the gunshot was?" Glenn whispered, leaning closer to me as we continued over a fallen tree. I frowned at him, what gunshot? I didn't remember hearing one, though I suppose I hadn't been paying the best attention to what had been going on around me. That's something I would've noticed though, isn't it?

"What gunshot?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

"The one that we heard like thirty minutes ago, weren't you paying attention?"

"Oh," I replied frowning. "It was probably nothing." Though it was probably more likely that it was something. Glenn looked hyped enough though as it was, so I wasn't going to admit my own weariness over a gunshot I hadn't even realized I'd heard.

"You sound like Daryl." He muttered. "Lori thinks something happened, but Daryl doesn't."

"It's not like we could help even if something did happen; we're totally separated at this point."

"Yeah, but what if they're hurt?" Glenn complained.

"How many were there?"

"Only one."

"Then I wouldn't worry, those odds are fine." I said, trying to assure him.

"I guess…" He said trailing off.

"Did I not say to shut the fuck up?" Daryl snapped stopping dead in his tracks and spinning to face Glenn. Daryl looked annoyed, Glenn looked worried and me? I was still trying to figure out why Andrea wasn't bitching at any of us.

"Where's Andrea?" Carol gasped, glancing over my shoulder to her I found her looking about wildly. Even Lori looked a smidge worried. I wasn't as concerned as I probably should have been. I had been spotting her disappearing off to the side every once in a while since we started walking this way, so I figured she'd pop back into our line of sight any minute now…

There was screaming. _Why_ was there screaming?

"Dammit!" Daryl cursed before tearing off into the direction the screaming was coming from. The rest of us rushed after him.

This was just absolutely wonderful. Andrea was probably being eaten with the luck we had had lately and I just had a feeling that this would somehow become my problem and fault. At some point or another Andrea had become my 'buddy'. Rick had advised we head back in pairs, and now look what had happened. The other half to my pair was being eaten.

The sight we came across when we tore through the clearing was an interesting one. Andrea was screaming bloody fucking murder lay out on the ground, her legs pushing against the Walkers chest. Quite frankly, I was rooting for the Walker. At least the noise would stop. Then, one second Daryl is aiming his crossbow at the bloody fellow and the next a woman on a horse is charging into the clearing with a goddamn bat and smacking the Walker straight to the ground.

Bitch is dead and Zorro has officially arrived.

"Whoa." I whispered with wide eyes. That was a case of badass.

"Who the fuck are you?" Daryl growled, eyeing the woman suspiciously as she came to a stop in front of us. She looked like she was in a hurry and the wile look in her eyes wasn't leaving me very calm.

"Lori..?" The woman asked, glancing between the four women in the group. Lori took a tentative step closer. "Your husband Rick sent me. Carl's been shot, he's still alive but you need to come. I'll take you to him." Lori blanched at the mention of her husband and son. She took a weary step closer to the horse before any of us can really even understand that the woman has just said that Carl's been shot.

"You can't be serious! You can't get on that horse! We don't even know this girl!" Daryl shouted in annoyance as Lori takes the woman's hand that has been offered and is pulled up onto the back of the horse.

"Rick says you have others on the highway, that big traffic snarl." She said looking straight at Glenn, who amusingly enough looked star struck at the very sight of her. "Backtrack to Fair Brooke road, two miles back there's a mailbox on the road follow the road on to the farm. The name is Greene." The woman nodded her head at us before urging the horse forward and off back in the direction she had come.

"Shut up." Daryl growled to the Walker as it began to sit up and moan at us. Carol and Andrea flinch as he fires an arrow into its head before going over and collecting it, a scowl firmly set onto his face. Apparently he wasn't very pleased by Lori's decision.

"So we're totally fucked if she was shitting us." I commented sardonically to the four of them as I stared off into the direction they had disappeared into. I was seriously hoping we hadn't just let a complete lunatic run off with Rick's wife. I somehow doubted that such a thing would go over so well with the already disgruntled man.

This moment was a prime example as to why you don't split up. _Ever_. Wasn't that a Survival 101 rule somewhere?

"Shot! What do you mean shot?" Dale exclaimed as Glenn informed him of the ill-fated news. I say his reaction is a tad on the dramatic side, but that may be the lack of sleep and food talking. I can't be sure. All I know is that these kids are really starting to piss me off. Was it so hard to stay out of trouble? Geesh.

"I don't know, Dale. I wasn't there. All I know is that some chick showed up on a horse like freaking Zorro and took Lori." Glenn answered as we all climbed back over the railing on the side. Dale looks offended that we don't have more facts.

"And you let her?" Dale asked Daryl, completely aghast by the very idea. I scoffed at the notion, there was not letting. Lori had decided that all on her lonesome. It was similar to the blame being bestowed on Rick for Sophia running off half-cocked.

"Climb down outta my ass, old man. Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name and Carl's." Daryl snapped as Dale eyed him. I find it funny that leadership over us is instantly passed down to Daryl or Shane when Rick isn't around. The hierarchy of this group really fucking sucks, I decided.

"It wasn't like we could tie her to a goddamn tree and say stay with that kind of information floating in the fucking air." I complained with a sigh.

"I heard screams, was that you?" Dale questioned Andrea as Daryl storms off. Andrea seemed offended by the question. I find it ironic when it was her, she had a bigger set of lungs on her than Sophia had that much was for sure. Bitch nearly deafened me when she started screaming when the Walker attacked her. I figured she could've actually tried to kill the damn thing instead of attracting more attention, but no.

"She got attacked by a Walker. It was a close call." Glenn said, answering for Andrea as she completely ignored the old man.

"Andrea? Are you alright?" Dale asked again, his voice laced with heavy concern. I rolled my eyes as I stalked away from him and Carol. His worry is wasted on a bitch that gives him a dirty look before she goes inside his Winnebago.

"Emily, are you alright?" He continued, glancing to me with the same look of concern.

Pausing I glanced over my shoulder at him and smile softly, "I'm fine, Dale. Thanks." The fisherman hat wearing man smiles back at me as he nods his head. Turning back around and heading off to my Mustang I decide that's my good deed for the day and people better not push my buttons. People being Andrea, of course.

When I reach my Mustang I find Daryl leaned up against the side of it, I frown at the sight of him. His arms are crossed against his chest and his crossbow rests propped up beside him. He's staring blankly to the other side of the interstate. He looks tense, more so than usual. I can't tell if he's worried about the stupid little girl or what, but he's worried about something.

"What's wrong?"

"Ain't any boos." He answered, eyes remaining on the nothingness in front of us. A short laugh escaped my lips, if only that was really our only problem than we'd truly be set for life. He glanced at me when I laughed, a frown still firmly set in place.

"Not a recommended way to solve problems." I commented.

"Probably not." He admitted. "Be nice though."

"Like you have anything to worry about." I teased, leaning up against the side of the car beside him. He quirked an eyebrow at me silently questioning and I laughed again. "You're the best tracker I've seen, so I wager we'll be finding Sophia any time now. And Lori, well she's Rick's problem."

"You." He said a second later, like he's adding me to the list. A frown creased my face.

"What about me?"

"Daryl! I need your assistance!" Dale called from the back of the Winnebago, my eyes snapped to the older man in annoyance. Daryl scooped his crossbow back up and pushes away from the Mustang, he glanced at me as he walked by and tips his head. Always a mystery, he leaves me un-amused.

"That's not fair!" I complained after him.

"Life ain't fair." Daryl retorted. Well, I'd be stupid if I didn't know that already.

Depositing what I had dragged out into the woods with me back into the car through the open window I proceeded to jog after Daryl. I was curious as to what exactly Dale needed from the redneck. They were staring each other down by the time I reached them. Eyeing them both curiously I tried to figure out what exactly was happening.

"So..?" I asked expectantly, trading glances between the two men.

"We need antibiotics for T-Dog. He has an infection. I believe Daryl may have some." Dale supplied.

"Why would Daryl have that kind of shit?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

"Merle had the clap on occasion." Daryl agreed. My eyes narrowed on both of them, so if the Walkers didn't get me then there was a chance Merle's STD's would. That was great, really, really great. _Really_.

"It's nice how people keep these things to themselves." I scoffed in annoyance.

"So you do have them?" Dale asked expectantly. Daryl nodded. "Well?"

Daryl grunted at the older man before going around me and heading off to his motorcycle, or rather Merle's. Merle always protecting that goddamn thing like it was his life suddenly made more sense as Daryl unzipped the satchel on the side and pulled out a Ziploc bag full of pill bottles. He was like a walking goddamn pharmacy.

"Let's see," Daryl drawled as he emptied the bag out on the hood of a random car. Carol, Dale and Glenn flocked around him interest as I eyed the group suspiciously from afar.

"Anything with cillin in the name." Dale stated helpfully.

"Here, Amoxicillin." Daryl said handing the orange bottle with the white lid off to Dale with a curt nod of his head. Dale took it gratefully as he lightly patted Daryl on the shoulder before quickly disappearing inside the Winnebago. I suppose that's where T-Dog is hiding.

"Now," Dale says five minutes later as he's coming out of the Winnebago. Glenn and Carol are leaned up against the Winnebago, Daryl's re-burying the bag in his satchel and I'm sitting on the road propped against the tire of the car. "What happened out there? Where exactly did Lori get taken off to?"

"Their farm. I guess it's back down the road that way." I answered with a yawn, motioning down towards the road that we had come from. I figured it was ironic that we had passed the place without even knowing. Made me wonder just how easy it was gonna be to actually find it when we went looking for it.

"We should head there. T-Dog needs the help, I'm not sure if the antibiotics will be enough." Dale informed us with a weary shake of his head. I'm still not sure what's wrong with T-Dog, but the way Dale keeps telling us its apparently pretty bad. I suppose that gash on his arm is worse than it had looked, which was saying a lot considering.

"We can't leave! What if Sophia comes back?" Carol asked in a panic, her voice cracking at the end as her wide eyes dart between all of us. I doubt Sophia has that keen of a sense of direction, but I don't voice my objections as Dale thinks that kink in the plan over.

"Glenn and Emmy can take T-Dog. The rest of us can stay here." Andrea supplied, appearing in the doorway of the Winnebago with a calm expression on her face. Dale glanced over his shoulder at the bitter woman before nodding his head in agreement.

"Why do I always have to go?" Glenn groaned, I frowned up at the delivery boy and he shrugged his shoulders at me sheepishly. It's not like I want to go either, I'm not too interested into running into whatever waits for us at that farm.

"Someone needs to get him there." Dale insisted.

"Then Em can go, I'll stay here." Glenn suggested.

"Thank you all for signing me up." I said with a roll of my eyes.

"Come on, Emily, T-Dog trusts you." Dale told me with an earnest smile. As true as that is, I'm annoyed.

"Well I'm not going by myself."

"T-Dog will be with you." Carol commented softly. I ignored her. She only wants everyone to be here and risk their lives for her stupid little girl just a little while longer. That little while longer could be the time that killed us all. Did she not understand that? It was the safety of the man against the safety of the few.

"I'm not going by myself." I repeated sternly, looking up to Glenn with narrowed eyes. I wasn't crawling into a goddamn hornets' nest by myself. If I was going to that damn farm then Glenn was going to be my fucking back up. There wasn't a way around this.

"You always have to get your way." Andrea scoffed at me.

"When my neck is on the line, then yes I do."

"Fine, I'll go with you, Em." Glenn informed me as Andrea and I stare each other down. Breaking the heated glare between us off I look to Glenn and nod my head I appreciation.

"We'll follow tomorrow afternoon if Sophia still hasn't shown up." Dale said with a nod of his head.

"Yeah," Daryl agreed. "That should give us enough time to rig up a big ass sign."

"Let's load up T-Dog then." I tell them, pushing myself up off of the road and dusting my hands off on my jeans.

Dale nodded his head in agreement as Andrea stepped out of the Winnebago for Dale to go inside, Glenn followed him in. Andrea glanced at me and rolled her eyes before climbing up on top of the Winnebago. Carol patted me on the shoulder before she followed Andrea up. Apparently Andrea was better company then me, how lovely.

A few minutes later the three of them emerge, T-Dog is leaned against Glenn as the two of them descend the stairs, Dale right behind them. T-Dog looks like royal shit and a frown creased my face. No wonder Dale is so worried.

I go in front of them to get to the Mustang first and open the passenger's side door. When Glenn and T-Dog reach the car, I lift the seat up for Glenn to climb into the backseat before helping T-Dog in.

"Watch T-Dog," Dale informed me with a stern look on his face, causing me to worry all that much more over the near literally dead weight in my car. "He has a very serious blood infection; he may not make it to the farm." Well, shit just got real.

"Alright, better get going then." He nodded his head in agreement and steps away from the car as I throw the car into reverse.

"Be careful." Dale told me as I skirt around the front of the car. Smiling I nodded my head at him. "Stay out of trouble." He insisted with a stern look.

"You too." I said as I lean into the car and pass the bag I had left there to Glenn before slipping inside the car. The keys are where I left them in the ignition and when I turn them the engine roars to life. Time to find a stupid ass farm.

The road leading to the farm is dirt. Dry dirt that kicks up at the first sign of the speeding Mustang roaring down it. I have not hated the fact that the windows are manual until that moment. Rolling up the one on my side was no big deal, but the one T-Dog's soon to be unconscious body was in front of, was a big ass problem.

"How long do you think?" Glenn asked anxiously leaning against the middle console. He was more in the front seat than he was in the back. His sense of boundaries was clearly skewed when he had the potential of seeing his one true love.

"Look, you're gonna see her again, so just relax." I huffed while elbowing him in the shoulder roughly. Maybe he'd take physical cues better than he was taking verbal ones.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about!" He protested.

"Uh-huh." I muttered with a roll of my eyes.

"What about you and Daryl, huh?" He questioned with narrowed eyes, hoping to deter me from the current topic of conversation.

It worked.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

He laughed, "C'mon! You and Daryl."

When I glanced at him, I wasn't pleased with the conspiratory look on his face. He looked like a ten year old who was talking about sex; which just annoyed me that much more. I was still having fucking nightmares any time I closed my eyes for longer than ten minutes and here Glenn was telling me that Daryl and I were screwing around. What dumb fuckery was this? And since when was Glenn so goddamn stupid!

"_Please_ tell me you're being stupid." I demanded curtly.

"He's bein' real fuckin' stupid." T-Dog slurred, startling me. Since when had he graced the land of the living with his presence?

"You okay, doll?" I asked with worried eyes glancing to him. He was still slumped against the door, cradling his banged up arm in his lap. He looked pitiful and my heart ached for him, which caused my foot to push down on the accelerator that much more. Where was this fucking place anyway?

"Just fine and dandy." T-Dog drawled, his lips struggling to form a smile.

"I think we're almost there…" I informed him as I squinted out of the windshield. It looked like there was a house up ahead. A big one too, two stories and looking like it walked out of the 1800's. Maybe this wasn't going to be as big of a hornets nest as I had thought.

"You think it's gonna be safe?" T-Dog asked, his eyes sliding shut.

"It's going to be safe." Glenn answered quickly, sending me a worried glance through the rearview mirror. Well that was lovely. If Glenn was even weary about these people, where the fuck did that leave the rest of us?

"Yeah," I muttered. "Totally safe."

Five or ten minutes later had me pulling to a stop in front of the house. I felt like I was in a time warp. The only thing missing from this picture was a horse and carriage. Immediately the woman from earlier was rushing outside, there was a shotgun in her hands and a pair of narrowed eyes pointed in our direction.

After I had cut the engine and climbed out of the front seat, her gun was lowered slightly. I wasn't at any more ease than she was.

"I thought there were more of you…" She commented frowning as I rounded the front of the car.

"About that, we need a little help." I replied as Glenn popped out on the driver's side of the car and jogged around the front to help me with T-Dog.

"With what?" She asked carefully, stepping down onto the dry ground as Glenn and I helped T-Dog out of the car. Glancing over my shoulder, I could tell she immediately understood a little of the situation we needed help with.

"He cut his arm. Dale said he had a blood infection." Glenn answered sheepishly as we dragged T-Dog to the stairs.

She nodded her head, "We should be able to help him."

"Hershel sent me; what's going on?" A man drawled. I frowned at the voice. It sounded…familiar. Why did it sound familiar?

"Got another injury."

"Shit. Let's get them inside." The man cussed, I could distinctly hear his loud footfalls echoing against the old wood of the porch before he suddenly appeared out of the shadows on the side of the house.

My heart stopped. Was that? Could it really be?

"_Oh my fucking god_." I whispered.


	19. Eighteen

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Well it's been awhile, hasn't it? Things have definitely happened on my end and I apologize for making you all wait so long. Hopefully I haven't lost you all, but if I have I'm genuinely sad.

This chapter is by far the shortest I've ever published but I'm just getting back into the spin of things and half of this was written like a year ago so I figured it would do for a return. Hopefully you guys sorta like it and the next one will be better. So bascially expect some semi regular updates to return. Emmy's story is definitely not dead my loves.

And thank you to all of you that reviewed, fav'd, alerted and everything else in my absence. You're the inspiration behind my return. I love you all.

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><p><strong>VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH<strong>

**This feature is rated T for obscene language and mild gore, but mostly language.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Emily Louise, Zane, Travis, Missouri and Grady Sinclair, Monty, Macy, Ray and Bo. Things that are unfamiliar and original in plot also belong to me. Anything recognizable does not, but to its respective owners.**

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><p><em>So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light<br>'Cause oh that gave me such a fright  
>But I will hold as long as you like<br>Just promise me we'll be alright_

_Ghosts That We Knew by Mumford & Sons_

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><p><strong>Eighteen<strong>

My heart hammered painfully against my ribs and my vision turned blurry around the edges as I stared unwaveringly at the man on the porch. I couldn't believe what was happening. The thoughts to understand and recognize it as actually happening seemed to be stuck somewhere else as I stared wide eyed at the man

Was this really happening? Was the person standing in front of me with a confused expression really here? Was I finally going mad? Was months of living in this hell finally getting to my sanity? I hoped not. I hoped that the man in front of me was really here and that when I blinked he wouldn't disappear into thin air. I hoped that this all wasn't just some dream.

"I'll always come back for you. The only thing that will stop me is death. Okay? I'll never break another promise to you, Emmy-boo."

"Hey, Em, are you alright?" Glenn asked with a frown from the other side of T-Dog effectively snapping me out of the revere I had found myself falling into. We were at a complete halt ten or so feet away from the porch. Zorro was eyeing me wearily and Missouri was giving me the same look of disdainful confusion.

Why was Missouri giving me that same look? Why wasn't he rushing towards me and swooping me up into a hug? Why wasn't he bouncing up and down in joy? Why wasn't he doing anything? He was standing there like a goddamn lump on a log. He was looking at me like I was a complete stranger. Like I wasn't his baby sister. Like we didn't share the same blood. Like - like he didn't even know who I was…

"Em?" Glenn asked again, his tone more worried this time as my grip slackened on T-Dog and his full weight shifted to the small delivery boy.

"Missouri?" I asked softly, my eyes locked on the all too familiar figure. His dark hair was longer now and he looked downright foreign in the backwoods bumpkin clothes he was wearing but there was no doubt in my mind that the man standing in front of me was Missouri Sinclair.

"I – I don't know who that is." He answered with a frown. "My name's George."

George? Who the bloody fuck was George?

"Let's get your friend inside." Zorro said, interrupting us as she rushed down off of the porch and over to us. She brushed me aside firmly and took ahold of T-Dog's side before she and Glenn dragged the man up the front steps and inside the house. Glenn sent me another questioning look before the front screen slammed behind them. I was too confused myself to even begin to start answering his questions.

"Are you alright?" Missouri – er – George asked carefully as he approached the steps.

Was I alright? Was I alright? What kind of shit question was that? Of course I wasn't bloody alright! I finally found my fucking brother and here he was seven ways past fucked in the head.

"I'm fine." I muttered finally.

"Maybe Hershel should have a look at you too…" He said trailing of uncertainly. The look on his face was of concern. It was a face I'd seen on more than one occasion. It was the face he wore the first time he found me drinking peach wine coolers in the Mustang with the five time senior from school. It was the look I had seen when I had voiced my thoughts on enlisting into the Marines. It was the look I had seen on that computer screen all those weeks ago.

"So, uh, who's Missouri?" He asked, his lips pressed tightly together once he had finished. By the look on his face, the name was just as foreign to him as George was to me. It was funny in a twisted way. It was highly ironic too. I didn't know what was worse; him not knowing me or me never finding him. Either way the stakes were high.

"You are." I answered evenly. I had half a mind to wonder if I was going about this in the right way. If he couldn't remember than something must have happened and that meant there was probably a better way to tell him 'Hey, you're my big brother, Missouri. So, man the fuck up and remember already goddammit.'

"You know me? You know who I am?" He asked in a hurry. I couldn't tell if he was excited at the prospect or worried.

"Your name is Missouri Sinclair. You're the second oldest of five, you hate honey and are allergic to citrus. When you told me you were leaving for college, I pushed you out of the tree house, that's where you got that scar on your chin."

He swallowed loudly as his eyes remained locked on mine, a hand reaching up to rub at the mentioned scar. I searched and searched for any sign of recognition in those hazel pools, but I found none. He was as much of a stranger to me as Zorro was. I could've told him I was fucking God and he wouldn't know the difference.

"What's your name?" He asked softly.

"Emily Louise. But everyone calls me Emmy." I answered forcing myself to smile.

"Emmy." He said, testing the name out. It sounded just as foreign to me coming from his mouth as it did to him.

"George!"

Our eyes snapped to the door at the man's voice. It sounded urgent enough and I hoped he'd run off to assist whoever it came from. He looked torn for a second between staying where he was and rushing off to assist. I figured it was hell inside with T-Dog's little problem than God only knew how bad Carl was. I prayed he'd think of that too. I didn't want to stand here with a man that shouldn't have been a stranger in some awkward silence.

"You can come inside." He informed me quickly as he rushed to the door. "Can we talk later?" He continued as he sent me tight lipped smile, I nodded my head quietly at him before he disappeared inside.

I breathed a sigh of relief as my shoulders slumped forward. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I wanted to cry or scream or do something. I didn't even know what the right reaction for this moment was. This was too fucked up of a situation for me to even…

This just wasn't right. I wasn't supposed to find Missouri only to find that Missouri wasn't really Missouri but George. What kind of fucked up name was George? He didn't even look like a George for fuck's sake! Who even gave him that goddamn name? Better yet; how the fuck had he even gotten to where he was?

How was I even supposed to get him to remember? Was there a handbook somewhere for this kind of thing? 'Cause if there was, that'd be real fucking handy.

"Hey." Glenn muttered sheepishly from behind me. I sat on the front steps. I hadn't dared to go inside for the past thirty minutes. I didn't want to know what was going on inside. A brother that didn't know me was hanging around somewhere in there and God only knows what else, somehow that just didn't appeal to me.

"What do you want?" I asked coarsely. I didn't want to leave that dark place I had went to just yet; reality was harsh enough without everything else that had just been dumped into my lap. I knew Glenn was going to try to cheer me up, he was a puppy in that sense. I figured he had to have been one in a past life, 'cause the skills he had weren't something that just came naturally. He was a pep pill and I wanted him to go away.

"Do you want to talk?" He questioned carefully, plopping down on the worn wood right beside me. Our shoulders brushed slightly as he settled, in annoyance I shifted further away from him. I wanted quiet time. Quiet time did not happen when Glenn was around, the only thing that happened was the opposite of quiet time and well, that shit didn't breed good ideas and I needed a real good idea at this point.

"About?"

"How do you know George?" Glenn asked. He was being more straight to the point than I had expected to be honest. I had expected him to beat around the bush until I finally gave in and spilled the entire can of beans right into his lap. That's what he wanted me to do. He wanted to be my shoulder to cry on, my surrogate brother. But why did I need one of those when I had found Missouri?

Oh. That's right. Missouri doesn't remember fucking shit.

"He's my brother." I say it so softly that I don't even think he hears me at first, the silence that follows in pregnant and stifling. I feel like I can't breathe. I just admitted to an actual person who knew something that my brother was just a few feet away. That somehow made it more real. It hadn't actually been happening until that moment. It had been shaded and dulled, just a shadow of a feeling, but once I admitted it to Glenn, it slammed into my chest harder than I thought possible. Literally knocking the air right out of me it left me gasping beside him. He didn't move to try and help me, he merely sat there quietly and patted my knee.

"Are you sure?" He's not doubting me or questioning my abilities, the concern in his voice is obvious and I struggle to take no offence to it. I know he just means well and that even I found myself asking the same thing. My Aunt Nora used to say everyone had their own twin walking this Earth, so why couldn't the man inside be merely just that?

Because, a voice in my head chided me, it is him.

"It's him." I uttered, staring blankly out across the yellowed field of grass.

It seems nice here and reminds me of sweeter times on a ranch in Dallas. It reminded me of moments my brothers had on leave and weekends when it was just me and daddy corralling cattle. It reminded me of a time I wish I could go back to with all my heart; before the dead walked and before Missouri had become George.

"He'll remember." Glenn informed me. Though I didn't quite hear him, the longer I sat there and stared at nothing the more dulled my hearing became. I idly acknowledged the numb feeling tingling up into my fingers and toes but thought nothing of it as Glenn hummed on. "Who wouldn't remember you, Em? He'll remember."

"How's T-Dog?" I asked, my own voice sounding muffled and distorted to my ears. A frown creased my face as I moved a hand up to rub at them, the loss of feeling in my hands left me feeling funnier as I moved them back to my lap, stretching the fingers out as far as they could go. What was going on?

The next words that left Glenn's mouth, well I wasn't even sure if they were words. They sounded muffled and jumbled to my ears. I wanted to ask him to repeat himself, but instead of the words coming out of my mouth, all I could do was suck in a breath of air before my world tipped to the side.

* * *

><p>I could hear voices, unfamiliar ones all around me. They sounded concerned but my defenses bristled none the less. I couldn't even remember where I was in my half consciousness so how could I tell if I was among friends or not?<p>

"Are you awake there, sweetheart?"

My heart nearly stopped at the question I knew was being directed at me, unless there was another woman layed out somewhere in the room which I somehow doubted it.

The longer I took to decide on how to react to the foreign mans voice, the more everything came back to me. I was on a farm because T-Dog's arm was infected, on this farm was my brother - not that he knew that though - and I must have had a panic attack or passed out from shock, either way I was still in hell. Just a different level.

"I am." I finally answered, letting my eyes pop open. An older man was standing over me, he looked nice enough. His face was worn with age and his lips were in some kind of half smile. It looked like he couldn't decide if he wanted to be welcoming to me or not. I noted with distaste that he and _George_ were dressed the same.

"You had us mighty worried."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes as I propped myself up. I was in some kind of bedroom decorated in yellow and flowers, it made me want to gag. I felt like I was in the prairie.

"It's just been crazy." I muttered not looking to divulge anything to the stranger. He seemed more interested than he really should be, I figured it was because of him. They seemed rather attached to this George who really was my Missouri.

Clearing his throat, he clasped his hands in front of him and continued to stare me down. I guessed I was supposed to feel intimidated. I didn't.

"George was saying that you knew who he was."

I could see he was defensive about the subject. I didn't know what angle he was coming from about the matter but either way I didn't like it. Just because he was all friendly with my brother and Rick did not mean I trusted an inch of him. Sure he had helped Missouri it looked like but that meant squat to me as much as I appreciated my big brother in one piece.

"I don't see how that's any of your concern." I replied curtly, rising from the bed in one swift movement. I didn't want to burn the bridge that ultimately led to my brother but at the same time I didn't want to pay the toll to the troll either.

"George is my concern."

"That's a shame because his name is Missouri, and he's mine."

His eyes narrowed on me and my smart ass response. I had a feeling I wouldn't be so popular here. Well hopefully the stay wouldn't be long anyway, I thought sardonically.

"_How_ do you know George?"

Oh well shit just got real. How the fuck did he know him anyway? How did my brother even get here? I had half a mind to ask if he was the reason my brother didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. But common sense reminded me that we were alone in this room and well, I didn't know what this man would do or where I really was. So fuck me basically.

"He's my brother. I've been looking for him." I admitted begrudgingly. It really was none of his business. I didn't ask him how he knew Zorro and he shouldn't have asked me how I knew Missouri. Was there nothing sacred in this hell anymore?

"Do you have proof?"

Say what? Well fuck you.

"I don't need any goddamn proof. We're blood." I snapped, taking some kind of sick pleasure as the older man flinched as I took the good lords name in vain. Well fuck him too, I thought, it's not like he was any big help in this world.

"He had a few men after him, I'm just looking out for his safety."

I frowned at the older man's admission, it seemed noble enough and sort of made sense if I wanted to be logical. Maybe that was why Missouri didn't remember, someone had attacked him.

"I'd die for my brother, you don't have to worry about me killing him."

His face softened slightly, "Then my name's Hershel and welcome to my farm."

"Emily." I returned, nodding my head slightly in his direction. All I wanted was to be let out of this damn room now. Seemed like we were on the same page or something.

"Your brother has an extreme case of amnesia, Emily. I know you want your brother back but it's going to take time. You can't be curt with him." Looks like someone was all for being straight to the point, eh?

"Just don't expect me to leave him here with you."


End file.
